DALLAS — Second-seeded Reilly Opelka advanced to the quarterfinals of the inaugural Dallas Open with a straight-sets win over Cedrik-Marcel Stebe on Thursday night.
Opelka, a two-time ATP Tour winner ranked 23rd in the world, won 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8) in his second meeting with Stebe. The first was at Wimbledon in 2019.
“I played well in the big points,” Opelka said. “I stayed in the tiebreakers, competed hard, it could have easily gone to a third set.”
The 24-year-old American will face fifth-ranked Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who beat Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-3, 6-1, in just over an hour. Mannarino has reached back-to-back quarterfinals for the first time since October 2020.
Fourth-seeded Jenson Brooksby, playing with a career-best No. 54 world ranking and seeded in an ATP Tour event for the first time in his career, also advanced the quarterfinals with 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Italian Andreas Seppi.
Brooksby, the 21-year-old American who reached fourth round as a wild card in the 2021 U.S. Open, has yet to win an ATP Tour title despite a breakout 2021 that included 49 professional wins and three ATP Challenger titles.
“It felt pretty good,” Brooksby said. “A little nervous, being in my first match of the year. It will always be a tough feeling losing early, but I competed well.”
Qualifier Vasek Posposil continued his strong start to 2022, beating Austrian Jurji Rodionov, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6), 6-2. The 31-year-old Canadian, with a far more successful doubles career, is seeking his first singles title since turning pro 15 years ago.
John Isner advanced to the semifinals in doubles in his hometown event, partnering with Jack Sock in a 6-0, 7-6 (2) win over Germans Oscar Otte and Peter Gojowczyk. Isner, who lives about a mile from the SMU tennis complex hosting the event, plays Posposil in singles Friday.