Opelka, the first US player to beat Djokovic in nine years!
Reilly Opelka pulled off the feat of the day by ousting Novak Djokovic in two sets (7-6, 6-3) in the Brisbane quarter-finals.
An unexpected performance, all the more so as he is playing with his protected ranking, having been away from the circuit for a long time following a hip injury.
And with this success, Opelka also ended the American player's losing streak against Novak Djokovic.
The last to beat the Serb was Sam Querrey in the 3rd round of Wimbledon in 2016.
Since then, Djokovic had won all 34 of his encounters with players representing the USA, including ten victories over Taylor Fritz.
The statistic is even more impressive when you consider that, at the time of his defeat by Sam Querrey, Novak Djokovic had just twelve Grand Slams to his name.