The American, who is one of the biggest servers on tour currently, had also racked up a mammoth 33 aces in his first-round match against Kwon Soon-woo. But while Opelka’s height is what makes his serve the destructive weapon that it is, it also brings about a few weaknesses in his game.

During his post-match press conference on Thursday, Reilly Opelka was quizzed about the pros and cons of his tall frame. The American admitted that his height makes it easier for him to serve, but pointed out that it doesn’t do him too many favors in other areas of the game.

Opelka further highlighted how he has learned to adjust to his height. The American does believes, however, that he wouldn’t be too far behind as a player even if he were shorter.

Reilly Opelka played a solid tiebreak in the first set on Thursday, serving and returning with gusto to knock the wind out of Lorenzo Musetti’s sails. Opelka hit the spots with his serve and made the right decisions on his return.

When asked if experience played a role in helping him clinch the opening set, the 24-year-old answered in the affirmative. He further claimed that some of the older players use their experience and knowledge to win games even if they are slower in certain facets of the game.

Reilly Opelka then gave the examples of Feliciano Lopez, Roberto Bautista Agut and the Big 3 - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - to reinforce his point.

“Diego Schwartzman is one of my favorites” - Reilly Opelka

During the presser, Reilly Opelka was asked for his thoughts on Diego Schwartzman - one of the shortest players on tour but who packs quite the punch.

Schwartzman stands at 5'7" or 170 cm, which is a whopping 41 cm shorter than Opelka. In fact, the Argentine is shorter than the average height of most male tennis players.

The American revealed that he is a big fan of Schwartzman’s aggressive tennis and, in the same breath, marveled at Yoshihito Nishioka, who is a centimeter shorter than Schwartzman.

Schwartzman and Nishioka are both exceptional athletes and can seemingly run all day long. But their height acts as a massive disadvantage as they seldom win free points on their serve, unlike Reilly Opelka.

Both Schwartzman and Nishioka need to slug it out on every single point to ensure they stay afloat. Opelka made a mention of that and went on to admit he doesn’t have the lung capacity to put in as much effort as either of those two.

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