Taylor Fritz of the USA, the number 27 seed and world number 30, will play compatriot Reilly Opelka, the world 40, in the second round of the 2021 Australian Open on Wednesday, February 10, with the match likely to begin at around 1 pm local time. Get the live streaming options of this Taylor Fritz v Reilly Opelka match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
Looking to watch 2021 Australian Open live streaming online?
- For tennis fans in the UK, Europe, Australia & elsewhere go to bet365 > Tennis > Live Streaming here* to watch & bet on the ATP & WTA tennis live.
- Get all the other Australian Open 2021 live streaming options here
[the_ad id=”14063″]
*Advertisement. Geo-restrictions apply & pre-funded account needed
Taylor Fritz v Reilly Opelka Head to Head
The pair have met five times before, and Fritz leads their current head-to-head series by four matches to one.
Fritz won their first meeting on clay in 2015 in Valldoreix, before Opelka got his revenge two years later in Newport Beach. However, Fritz won all their subsequent encounters – at Indian Wells in 2018 and in Barcelona and Tokyo the following year.
Fritz Made to Work Hard in First Round Encounter
Fritz was given a tough assignment on paper against the world 46, Albert Ramos Vinolas of Spain in the first round, and so it proved in practice.
The first set was scrappy with unforced errors on both sides of the net, and two service breaks apiece meant a tie-break. Again, neither man was convincing, but Fritz won the set because he dropped his serve fewer times than the Spaniard.
The games got longer in the second set as each man struggled to hold, but this time it was Fritz who buckled, enabling Ramos-Vinolas to level.
The pattern continued in the third until Fritz reasserted control and broke twice to re-establish his advantage.
Any hopes that he could pull away from there in the fourth where ended as it became a marathon battle. Break points were forced on both sides but none could be converted and it went to another tie break.
The Spaniard was determined to go down fighting and saved two match points but, on the third, Fritz was finally able to get over the finishing line.
[the_ad id=”30344″]
Opelka Benefits from Kind Draw
Opelka was the recipient of a kind draw in the first round, against the Taiwanese veteran Yen-Hsun-Li, a man ranked outside the top 1000, and who was only able to play in this event because of his protected ranking.
As expected the tall American relied heavily on his serve, and he was able to rattle through the first set, forcing a solitary break which he then consolidated.
He had been barely threatened on his own serve but then Lu broke him in the second set, only to surrender the break back soon afterwards. That meant a tie-break, and Opelka took four points off his opponent’s serve to establish a two set lead.
It was back to business as usual in the third, and one further break was all he needed to get the job done.
Opelka had served 18 aces and won 89% of his first serve points.
Fritz v Opelka Prediction and Tip
Fritz will start favourite for this match because of his higher world ranking and superior head to head record. He was made to work harder in his first-round match, but he had a tougher opponent, and the match practice will have done him good.
Tip: Fritz to win in four sets: 7/2 (bet365)
[the_ad id=”30513″]
The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
Be the first to comment