Reilly Opelka had less aces, winners and points overall but emerged where it mattered most – victorious on his first-round scorecard against No.9 seed John Isner on Monday.
In a battle between two of the tallest players on tour, the 97th-ranked 21-year-old landed the biggest win of his career to see off his top-ranked compatriot 7-6(4) 7-6(6) 6-7(4) 7-6(5).
It marked the second consecutive year 33-year-old Isner had fallen at the first hurdle in Melbourne, and snapped an unbeaten run of nine Grand Slam matches against fellow Americans.
Not that Opelka was getting too carried away with the result.
“It’s a big win, yeah, but it’s not like a breakthrough win,” he said. “I’m still barely top 100 so I still have a lot of progress I feel like has to be done, to improve, to continue to get my ranking up.
“Physically, just being healthier, being stronger, just making sure my body doesn’t break down during the year.”
The 208cm Isner, a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2018, had not been broken all match when he served to level at two sets apiece at 5-4 in the fourth.
But a misfired backhand and three forehand errors allowed his taller 211cm opponent back into the set.
“That side was tougher to serve on for sure, so if I was going to break him it was going to be on that side, because the wind was tough,” Opelka said.
“I was ready to play a fifth, that was my mindset, so I got lucky to get a break. He missed a couple of spots on his serve.”
Isner clocked 47 aces to Opelka’s 40, struck 79 to 64 winners and his 147 points won were five more than his younger compatriot’s.
Opelka expected as much, but had a fair idea he dominated on an often overlooked facet of his game.
“I think that’s normal with a big-guy match,” he said. “He serves better than me so I expected he’d hit more aces, get more free points, but I think I did a good job of second-serve points.
“I think I won a really high number of second-serve points.”
That was understatement. The 21-year-old’s 64 second-serve points won were nearly double Isner’s.
Opelka will face Italian Thomas Fabbiano for a place in his maiden third round at a Grand Slam.
Just don’t expect him to get too carried away if he claims that one.