American talent Reilly Opelka recently received a comeback from Zizou Bergs after he commented on the latter’s recent win against Alex Michelsen at the 2025 Rolex Paris Masters. Bergs confirmed a match against Jannik Sinner after beating the American.
The World No. 41 celebrated with a moonwalk after concluding the match with a score of 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, which garnered Opelka’s reaction.
Reilly Opelka Shares His Reaction to Jannik Sinner’s Next Opponent Zizou Bergs’ Paris Masters Moment
The World No. 52, Reilly Opelka, competed at the 2025 Rolex Paris Masters and defeated Mattia Bellucci in the qualifying round. He then withdrew from his second qualifying-round match against Aleksandar Vukic. Despite his no-show in the qualifying round, the American was granted a lucky-loser main-draw spot. He competed against Corentin Moutet in the round of 64, eventually facing defeat.
Whereas Zizou Bergs faced Alex Michelsen in the round of 64, he overcame the latter and performed a brief moonwalk while celebrating. However, frustrated with losing the match, Michelsen furiously smashed his racket. The action at the concluding time of the game attracted Opelka’s attention, and he commented on TennisTV’s Instagram post. He wrote,
“I’d rather lose 6-2 in the third than win 6-2 in the third and moonwalk”
Bergs replied, taking a dig at Opelka’s main draw entry despite qualifying-round withdrawal.
“@reillyopelka I rather play than not play in Q’s 😘”
The Instagram post of TennisTV featuring the opposite emotions of Bergs and Michelsen mentioned,
“The contrasting emotions of sport 🔥”
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Before competing at the 2025 Paris Masters event, the St. Joseph, Michigan native, who shares a close friendship with WTA legend Venus Williams, competed at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he played impressively, reaching the quarterfinal round.
At the Shanghai Masters, he was defeated in the round of 128 by Benjamin Bonzi. Before that, he played in Swiss legend Roger Federer’s tournament, the 2025 Laver Cup, concluding his singles run with a defeat from Casper Ruud. In the doubles with Alex Michelsen, he lost to the current World No. 1, Carlos Alcaraz, and Ruud.
Against Which Player Did Reilly Opelka Earn One of the Biggest Victories of His Career in 2025?
While playing at the Brisbane International presented by Evie, Reilly Opelka delivered a notable victory against Serbian legend Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal round. He became the second-lowest-ranked player to defeat Djokovic. After gaining the upper hand on court, he shared his admiration for the winner of 100 ATP Tour singles titles via the ATP Tour.
“He is the greatest tennis player the sport has ever seen. It is difficult being in Novak’s position because he can scout me all day long but the reality is we have nothing to lose coming in against him, he is the greatest player ever. So you end up playing more free and take more risk. If you play your normal level or even a little above your normal level he will win.”
At the same tournament, Opelka recorded his 100th career win after defeating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the semifinal round.
