HOUSTON/STARNBERG, April 10, 2022
US-American Reilly Opelka entered his third ATP Tour final this season, good for second behind Rafael Nadal’s four, after a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Australian Nick Kyrgios at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Saturday. Opelka, who won his third career title in Dallas in February, is currently on a seven-match win streak in Texas. The 24-year-old from Michigan will appear in his first final at River Oaks.
A maiden clay-court final for @ReillyOpelka 👏
He moves past Kyrgios 6-3 7-5 in Houston.#USClay pic.twitter.com/3iDwYuaoXb
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 9, 2022
Isner Eyes First River Oaks Title In Nine Years
John Isner, the 2013 champion, is seeking his second career title at River Oaks. He advanced to his third Houston final and his 30th career ATP Tour final following a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Cristian Garin from Chile. The US-American looks to become the fifth player in tournament history to win multiple River Oaks titles. At 36, Isner would be the oldest champion in the Open Era.
It’s an all-American final in Houston 🇺🇸@JohnIsner defeats defending champion Garin 4-6 6-3 6-4 and will face Reilly Opelka for the title.#USClay pic.twitter.com/pzpc6OUdFe
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 9, 2022
Ninth all-American US Clay Final In Open Era Takes Place Sunday
Opelka and Isner will meet for the sixth time on the ATP Tour, with Opelka winning the head-to-head battle 4-1. The US-Americans squared off in semifinals in Dallas in February and played the longest singles tiebreak in ATP Tour history. Opelka won the tiebreak 24-22 to clinch a 7-6(7), 7-6(22) victory en route to his third career title. This will be the first all-US-American ATP Tour final on clay since the 2018 singles championship (Steve Johnson def. Tennys Sandgren 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-4). There have been eight previous all-US-American US Clay finals.
Australian Open Finalists Ebden, Purcell Take River Oaks Doubles Title
Australian Open finalists Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell won their first doubles title together after defeating Serbian twins Ivan and Matej Sabanov 6-3, 6-3. Ebden and Purcell, who did not drop a set en route to the title, are the first Australian duo to win US Clay since Pat Cash and Patrick Rafter in 1996. The title at River Oaks is Ebden’s fifth career ATP Tour doubles title and Purcell’s first career Tour-level title.
Notes
* Opelka (6-foot-11) and Isner (6-foot-10) will face off in the tallest final in tournament history.
* Isner now has a tournament record 71 aces this week, besting his own previous record of 64 set when he won the 2013 title.
* With an 18-10 record in the tournament, Isner is now the winningest active player at US Clay, surpassing Sam Querrey (17-11)
* Isner (36) is the oldest US Clay finalist in the Open Era, and is bidding to be the oldest champion since 33-year-old Andre Agassi won the 2003 title.
* Isner has reached at least one ATP Tour final in the United States in nine of the last 10 years and is looking to win his 15th career title on US-American soil.
* Garin suffered his first career loss at River Oaks, falling to 8-1 here.
* Kyrgios was the first Australian semifinalist at River Oaks since Lleyton Hewitt in 2009.
* Ebden and Purcell are just the fourth Australian duo in the Open Era to win the US Clay doubles title.
* The Sabanov brothers are the second pair of siblings to reach the River Oaks doubles final in the last two tournaments.
* The Ernest Langston Sportsmanship Trophy, named after the former River Oaks International Tournament Chairman, was awarded to the fans for the 2022 event.
Saturday, April 9, 2022
Singles – Semifinals
[3] Reilly Opelka (USA) def. [WC] Nick Kyrgios (Australia) 6-3, 7-5
[4] John Isner (USA) def. [5] Cristian Garin (Chile) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Doubles – Final
[1] Matthew Ebden (Australia) & Max Purcell (Australia) def. Ivan Sabanov (Serbia) & Matej Sabanov (Serbia) 6-3, 6-3
