ATP Swiss Open Semifinals Odds & Pick: Reilly Opelka vs Alex de Minaur
By Hans Themistode in Tennis
Updated: April 13, 2020 at 11:46 am EDTPublished:
- Alex De Minaur has been outstanding during his Swiss Open run
- Reilly Opelka has been an underdog in two straight contest but has come away with the victory, he’ll look to make it a third against De Minaur
- Check the preview below for our semifinal matchup analysis and prediction
The Swiss Open semi final will feature a matchup between a pair of players who, although talented, weren’t expected to make it this far.
Reilly Opelka and Alex De Minaur will go head-to-head for a chance to reach the Swiss Open final.
Much like his previous two contests, Opelka is considered the underdog coming into this matchup, but should he be?
ATP Swiss Open Semifinal Odds
| Player | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex De Minaur | -2 (-116) | -181 | O 23 (-134) |
| Reilly Opelka | +2 (-104) | +161 | U 23 (+114) |
*Odds taken 10/25/2019
With tournament favorite Roger Federer playing extremely well at the moment, both Opelka and De Minaur will need to put on an impressive performance in order to have the 20-time grand slam champion doubt his chances of winning yet another Swiss Open title.
Smooth Sailing for De Minaur
It’s almost hard to believe that Alex De Minaur is only 20. The amount of improvement he has shown over the past few years has been remarkable.
During the 2018 season De Minaur managed to end the year with a career-high ranking of 31. This year, he has improved his positioning by climbing up to number 28. He has put his full arsenal on display for the Swiss Open.
His first round matchup against Hugo Dellien was a matchup in which he breezed by. De Minaur destroyed his man in the first set, dropping only one game. The second set was far more competitive but still, De Minaur managed to win and move on.
Usain de Minaur 💨
The quickest player on tour?@alexdeminaur #SwissIndoorsBasel pic.twitter.com/1a5eEcCpDQ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 25, 2019
Waiting for De Minaur in the following round was American Taylor Fritz. On paper this was viewed as a more difficult test, but the actual results proved otherwise. De Minaur ran through his man in yet another straight set win. That aforementioned win set up a quarterfinal contest against Jan Lennard Struff.
Although Struff proved to be the sternest of De Minaur’s run, he still was no match for the up-and-comer.
De Minaur may have had a bit of an easy road to get to the semis, but he will find things much more difficult going forward.
Reilly Opelka’s Cinderella-Like Run
Opelka can’t be praised enough for the resiliency he has shown throughout this tournament.
He opened his Swiss Open run against Christian Garin, and found it to be anything but a cake walk. It took Opelka two close tiebreakers in order to make it to the next round.
Opelka’s first victory was a good one, but his run was only supposed to last one round. His contest against the 13th-ranked player in the world, David Goffin, was a loss just waiting to happen.
The first set of that contest played out exactly how many thought it would as Goffin won a close tiebreaker. Opelka showed a ton of heart in winning the next two sets to advance to the quarter finals behind his huge serve.
From 0-40 down to winning the set in 5 easy steps 💁♂️@ReillyOpelka #SwissIndoorsBasel pic.twitter.com/5zOXQEwrYr
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 25, 2019
Opelka may have been able to work his magic against Goffin, but the tenth ranked player in the world in Roberto Bautista Agut would put an end to his run. Or at least, that was the prevailing thought.
These two big hitters battled for three sets. There was plenty of back and forth action with the pendulum swinging in both directions but in the end, it was Opelka who came out victorious.
How They Matchup
Neither one of these players have been pro’s for long but they have a pretty lengthy history against one another already.
Head-to-Head
| 3 | Wins Against Each Other | 0 |
| 28-10 | Hard Court Win/Loss Record | 30-14 |
| 31-17 | Total Win/Loss Record | 37-23 |
| 28 | Rankings | 37 |
It’s pretty rare that any two players face each other four times in a single season, but this contest will indeed be contest number four this year between the pair. They have all been close but De Minaur has managed to pull out the victory each and every time.
Opelka has quickly gotten the reputation as one of the biggest servers in the sport but De Minaur has had little trouble negating his opponents best asset.
Best Bet
Reilly Opelka has been great, and at the age of 22, he is showing that his future is just as bright as any other young player in the sport.
With all that being said however, it is really hard to back him here.
Looking at a history between two players doesn’t all tell the story, but in this case, it truly does. Not only has De Minaur beaten him in three straight head-to-head contests this year, but he has managed to do so on Opelka’s favorite surface, hard court.
This is going to be one heck of a semi-final, but expect De Minaur to pull off another victory.
Sports Writer
Hans Themistode has worked in sports journalism since attending Queens College, and has worked for several newspapers including the BX Times and Canarsie Courier, as well as writing for publications such as Fansided and The Clever. His work has also been featured on Bleacher Report.
