Reilly Opelka - "John McEnroe is a genius, a rock star!"
Reilly Opelka responded to many questions in a detailed interview with the “Inside Tennis” portal. Also to his Laver Cup captain John McEnroe.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Oct 06, 2021, 02:04 pm
Reilly Opelka has reached the final of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto this season (loss to Daniil Medvedev), and the tall American made it to the semifinals in Rome, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. The current ATP world rankings show Opelka as number 20, making him the best player in his country. Most recently, the 24-year-old from Michigan was at the Laver Cup in Boston, where he lost his opening match against Casper Ruud.
Away from the court, Opelka is also a friend of the visual arts. Just like his Laver Cup captain, John McEnroe. About which Opelka raves in a detailed interview with the "Inside Tennis" portal .
"I've always got on well with guys like McEnroe because it's impossible to have problems with them. McEnroe always tells you everything he's feeling. He's always honest and tells me what's going on. Plus it not many people out there who have four paintings by Philip Guston, Basquiat, Picasso and Warhol who lived in the 70s and 80s rock n roll years of tennis, people think McEnroe is crazy, one Hot-headed New Yorker. But he was incredibly upbeat during the Laver Cup. He's misunderstood. He's a genius. He's brilliant and cultured. He's a rock star. "
No comparisons with Agassi and Sampras, please
Opelka is far less euphoric about the reporters who accompany the tennis circus. Especially his American compatriots. "These guys are terrible - there are some bad journalists. Some just criticize all the time. They are always criticizing - and they don't know anything about tennis. I think we have the worst press people in the sport. Enjoy what we have - the boys who play now. Why are we criticized so harshly? Don't compare us to Sampras and Agassi. Just enjoy us, support us. Because you don't know anything about me. "
This may also be due to the fact that tennis in the USA does not enjoy the same popularity as it does in some European countries. "We're very few players. In Europe it's either football or tennis. In the US it's football, baseball or basketball. Football is bigger than tennis in the US, and so is lacrosse. The best athletes in the world are Americans. But they." only play basketball and football. And why not? I wish I played basketball. I think I'm a great athlete, I move my body well for my height. If I was a basketball player, one of the top 20 NBA players, I'd make $ 28 million a year. But quite the opposite: I work hard, travel the world, and earn a lot less. If you're the eighth best man in the Chicago Bulls, you make more than number eight in tennis. "