Novak Djokovic sent a brief message to his opponent after crashing out of the Brisbane International.
Reilly Opelka pulled off a huge upset on Friday, sending the top seed packing in the quarter-final.
The world No. 293 earned his first top-10 victory in more than three years, beating Djokovic 7-6(6) 6-3.
Djokovic was competing in his first official tournament since finishing runner-up at the Shanghai Masters in October. The world No. 7 added Andy Murray to his coaching team during the off-season and seemed motivated to have a strong season.
The 37-year-old got through his first two rounds in Brisbane with ease, beating Rinky Hijikata and Gael Monfils in straight sets. But his first meeting with 6’11 giant Opelka proved too tricky.
Djokovic couldn’t break the tall American’s serve and struggled in the crucial moments, losing a close first-set tiebreak before relinquishing a costly break in the second.
After the match, the 24-time Major winner took to Instagram to send a seven-word message to Opelka.
Djokovic posted a photo of their handshake to his story and wrote: “Amazing tennis, Reilly. Absolutely deserved. Good luck.”
The world No. 7 has a good relationship with the American. Following his second-round victory on Thursday, he said: “Opelka has been injured, for a couple years he struggled a lot. He’s a great guy off the court, we get on well. I’ve never faced him on the court.”
But their first meeting didn’t go as planned for Djokovic, who will now head to Melbourne to prepare for the Australian Open. The 37-year-old will be joined by his new coach Murray, who did not come to Brisbane.
Djokovic will be a man on a mission in Melbourne Park as he bids to win his 11th Australian Open crown and a record 25th overall Grand Slam title.
Despite getting a huge win over Djokovic and putting himself within two match wins of the title, Opelka is also firmly focused on the Australian Open.
Ranked outside of the top 200 after spending two years sidelined by injuries, the 27-year-old is the lowest-ranked man ever to reach the Brisbane semi-final. But he’s using it as preparation for the first Major of the season.
“The big show is in a week,” he said after becoming the first American man to beat Djokovic in nine years.
“Obviously this is great, this is all preperation for Melbourne, this was just a step along the way. We play tournaments all the time, this is great, exciting. This is the start of a long road for me.”
