Reilly Opelka is guaranteed to leave the U.S. Open with $265,000 for reaching the round of 16, and the No. 22 seed will earn more if he defeats unseeded Lloyd Harris on Monday. But part of Opelka’s prize money will go toward paying a $10,000 fine he was assessed for walking out to the court for his match against Nikoloz Basilashvili on Saturday carrying a bag with a logo that Grand Slam rules deemed was too big.
Opelka, a Michigan native who lives in Delray Beach, Fla., and is ranked No. 24 in the world, toted a pink bag with a logo that read, “Tim Van Laere Gallery.” According to its website, the gallery is in Antwerp, Belgium, and showcases established and emerging contemporary artists.
According to the arcane rules that govern players’ display of sponsor logos, the type size of the words on the bag were too big, and Opelka was fined under Section C of the Grand Slam code. He took to Twitter to publicize the bizarre punishment.
“US Open ticket sales must be struggling this year. 10K for a pink bag, at least it looked fly,” he said on Twitter, adding a couple of emojis and the hashtag #corporate.
During a news conference Saturday, he called the fine “a bit harsh, a bit excessive.” He added, “My job is not to measure logos. It is just not. My job is to win matches. I have bigger things to worry about. For the referee to tell me it’s my job to measure a logo, no, clearly not. It’s his job. I’m trying to beat Basilashvili and make the round of 16 of a Grand Slam.
“Our prize money has been decreased for over a year and a half now, but our fines have been increased. I don’t want to point fingers out on other players, not trying to throw anyone under the bus. But there has been people that have gotten away with a lot worse with a lot less of a fine.
“You want to take away our prize money the whole time? I guess they’re making up for lost ticket sales last year, I guess. I’d love to see it get donated elsewhere. We’ve had a few tragedies here in the States the last couple weeks. If they are going to take 10K from me, it better not go to a major corporation. That’s my thought.”
The U.S. Tennis Assn. publishes a list of fines incurred at the Open for infractions such as racket abuse, uttering audible obscenities, receiving coaching, and unsportsmanlike conduct. Opelka’s fine is the largest issued so far. Twenty male players have been fined, and four female players have been fined.
Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick suggested that the gallery capitalize on the worldwide exposure Opelka had provided. “The press stories the big guy is getting for this company through his $10K fine is totally worth it,” Roddick said on Twitter. “If I’m the company, I pay the fine for him, and have him take the bag back out again for the next match.”
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Opelka is one of four Americans left in the singles draw as fourth-round play begins. The others are Frances Tiafoe — who was scheduled to face Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada later Sunday — Jenson Brooksby of Sacramento and Shelby Rogers, who upset women’s No. 1 Ash Barty on Saturday night. Brooksby, 20, is the youngest American to reach the round of 16 since Roddick did so in 2002 at age 20.
American Jack Sock’s bid to reach the fourth round ended late Saturday when a leg injury forced him to retire from his match against No. 4 Alexander Zverev of Germany. Zverev advanced, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 2-1 (retired).
“Jack I think played the best set of tennis I’ve ever seen him play. I did one unforced error in the whole set and I lost it 6-3 without having really any chances,” Zverev said. “If he would have kept it up, I probably would not have won the match…. When he gets injured, it’s a shame because otherwise it would have been an incredible match, I think.”
Elina Svitolina extends win streak with win over Simona Halep
No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine extended her winning streak to nine matches with an authoritative 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 12 Simona Halep of Romania on Sunday. Svitolina, the first woman to reach the quarterfinals, hasn’t lost a set here.
Halep did well to get this far. She missed the French Open and Wimbledon because of a torn calf muscle, and she wasn’t as match-fit as she knew she’d need to be in order to get far at the U.S. Open. Still, she found reasons for optimism.
“When you don’t have many matches, you always are a little bit stressed before the match. But overall I think I did a good job here, and I’m looking forward actually with positive thoughts,” she said.
“I’m positive about how I played, how I feel. No pain, no injury. So this is the most important thing. Now I need a little bit of rest and to reflect a little bit what I have to do better next time against her because always it’s been a tough match with her. But, yeah, it’s normal that she had a better chance today because she played so much this year and she had confidence very high. So, yeah, I think it was a good day.”
Halep also said she normally would play at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells — which was delayed to October this year for pandemic-related reasons — but she will consult with her team and see how she feels before deciding if she will compete.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.