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Match details
Fixture: (3) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Reilly Opelka
Date: 14 August 2021
Tournament: 2021 National Bank Open
Round: Semifinals
Venue: Aviva Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $2,850,975
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Voot
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Reilly Opelka preview
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Reilly Opelka will lock horns in the semifinals of the 2021 National Bank Open on Saturday. Both players registered straight-sets wins in their respective last-eight encounters.
Tsitsipas was the first to book his spot in the semifinals, scoring a straightforward 6-1, 6-4 win over Casper Ruud. The third seed looked dominant throughout the contest and faced just one breakpoint. Tsitsipas has dropped only one set in three matches and has looked especially strong on serve.
Opelka, on the other hand, has been made to work hard in some of his matches in Toronto. The big-serving American has overturned a one-set deficit twice this week, including in his first-round encounter against Nick Kyrgios.
He had a much more straightforward outing against Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarterfinals, though, coming away with a 6-3, 7-6(1) win. Needless to say, he will be feeling confident about his game heading into Saturday's encounter.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Reilly Opelka head-to-head
Stefanos Tsitsipas leads Reilly Opelka 1-0 in the head-to-head. The duo's only prior meeting was at Cincinnati last year when Opelka retired whilst leading 6-5 in the first set.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Reilly Opelka prediction
Despite the huge gulf in the rankings between the two players, this semifinal contest could turn out to be a close affair. Stefanos Tsitispas is the favorite on paper but he should expect a tough fight from the battle-hardened Reilly Opelka.
The American's big serve has been firing on all cylinders this week and he has accumulated an incredible total of 73 aces in four matches. He has also been solid in crunch moments, winning all four of the tiebreakers he has contested this week.
Tsitsipas has been solid on serve as well, but he will be hoping to avoid going into a tiebreaker against a dangerous opponent like Opelka. Thus, he will need to be aggressive on return and take the attack to the American, especially on second serves.
Tsitispas has been striking the ball cleanly all week and if he can continue playing at a high level, he should be able to fend off Opelka.
Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in three sets
