Top-seeded Cameron Norrie defeated American favorite Reilly Opelka with a double 7-6 in the final and was crowned champion of Delray Beach Open 30th edition. In doubles, Jean-Julien Rojer and Marcelo Arévalo lifted the trophy. This year, ticket sales set a tournament record.
After the final, Norrie talked about the key to defeating Opelka, whose 6’ 11” and extremely powerful serves are always hard to beat. With this victory, the 26-year-old Briton reached his third Association of Tennis Professionals’ singles title, after winning the 250 ATP of Los Cabos and the Indian Wells Masters 1000, both in 2021. On the way to the final, Norrie beat the German Oscar Otte in the round of 16, and the Americans Sebastian Korda and Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Overall, he defeated three local players, which is always tough considering that the fans are normally supporting the players from their country.
On the other side, the runner-up Reily Opelka, who had already won this tournament in 2020, also showed a great level of tennis throughout the competition. He defeated the American Jack Sock in the round of 16, the French Adrian Mannarino in the quarterfinals, and the Australian John Millman in the semifinals. Opelka won all those matches in three sets.
In doubles, the number 1 seeded partners, the Dutch Jean-Julien Roger and the Salvadoran Marcelo Arévalo beat the Kazakhstani Aleksandr Nedovyesov and the Pakistani Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 6-2 6-7 10-4.
Also, the 2022 Delray Beach Open started with an ATP champions edition where recognized ex-tennis players showed their level on the court. Some of the players that participated in the event were: the former number one doubles pair, Bob and Mike Bryan, the former number 8 in singles, Radek Stepanek and the former number 2, Tommy Haas.
Highlights of the 2022 Delray Beach Open edition:
In the round of 16, a match between Tommy Paul and Denis Istomin, both players gave us one of the best points of the season so far.
One of the things that characterize this tournament is the sponsored car always present in a corner of the main court. This year, the American Stefan Kozlov left his mark on the car while trying to make a defensive play in the middle of a point.
Also, according to the tournament's organizer Mark Baron, this edition broke a record in ticket sales.
By Osvaldo Godoy