Nick Kyrgios gifted walkover, Reilly Opelka cruises past Gijs Brouwer to set up Houston semi-final clash

Published 09/04/2022 at 08:20 GMT

"Nick, you never know what you're going to get," the American said, as he looked ahead to his semi-final meeting with Kyrgios. "I've got to serve better than the way I've been to beat that guy, for sure." The match is only the second semi-final appearance for Kyrgios since August 2019, but this will be Opelka’s fourth semi-final of the year as he seeks a second title in 2022.

Highlights: Opelka sets up Kyrgios clash with Brouwer win at ATP Houston

Reilly Opelka and Nick Kyrgios are through to the Houston semi-finals to set up a tantalising semi-final clash between the pair on Saturday evening.

Opelka cruised past Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer, while Kyrgios advanced to the last four with a walkover following Michael Mmoh's withdrawal from the tournament due to a right adductor strain.

The American won 6-3, 7-5 against Brouwer, making it four sets in a row for the man ranked number 18 in the world. This is all the more remarkable considering he entered the tournament in Houston with a 0-4 main-draw record.

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Opelka took the opening set quite comfortably despite the windy conditions in Texas, but had to recover from 1-3 down in the second to reach the semis after having the benefit of a first-round bye.

"The bye weeks are nice, they really are, to come in a little later, have more time to prepare on the court. You get to take your time and that's huge," he said in quotes published by atptour.com.

"Nick, you never know what you're going to get," the American added, as he looked ahead to his semi-final meeting with Kyrgios. "I've got to serve better than the way I've been to beat that guy, for sure."

Kyrgios was full of praise for Opelka ahead of their clash and commented on the electric atmosphere in Houston.

He said: "I'm excited to be in the semi-final against Reilly, someone who's been playing extremely good for the last couple of years. Really finding his game style and executing.

"I'm just excited to go out there again in front of the Houston crowd. The key is going to be serving well. We'll see, it might come down to a couple of points.

"I think we're both pretty comfortable on the clay, as it seems in this tournament. I think Houston has pretty good conditions for both of us."

Nick Kyrgios

Image credit: Getty Images

The match is only the second semi-final appearance for Kyrgios since August 2019, but this will be Opelka’s fourth semi-final of the year as he seeks a second title in 2022.

Meanwhile, the second semi-final sees reigning champion and fifth seed Cristian Garin take on John Isner, after the pair both recorded three-set victories on Friday.

Garin overcame Taylor Fritz, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3, on his fifth match point, and it was the first win where he did not have to recover from a set down. This was despite the American twice fighting back from a break down in the second set to make Garin work hard to secure the victory.

Highlights: Garin downs Fritz in three sets to reach semi-finals at ATP Houston

The Chilean raced into a 5-0 lead in the third set, but Fritz battled back to save three match points to reduce the score to 3-5, then created three break points, before Garin eventually prevailed in his second attempt to serve it out and win the match.

Meanwhile, Isner won 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 against Frances Tiafoe to reach his second ATP Tour semi-final this year. The 2013 Houston Champion was made to sweat after being two for 10 on his break point chances between the first and third sets.

However, after gaining an early advantage in the third, Isner did not face a break point and went onto secure the win.