Reilly Opelka opens his Madrid Open campaign against qualifier Nicolai Budkov Kjaer in a first-round match that sets up a sharp contrast of styles on clay. Opelka's enormous serve can still hand him free points, but Budkov Kjaer has already shown he can handle the surface and the longer exchanges.
Opelka, whose game is built around ending points quickly, owns a career ATP clay record of 16-23 and has gone 2-5 on the surface over the last 52 weeks. That is a tougher resume than most players would want heading into Madrid, even if the Spanish capital's altitude quickens the court slightly and can make life easier for big servers.
Budkov Kjaer came through qualifying in Madrid after beating Moez Echargui in straight sets, and he arrives with the look of a comfortable clay mover. He can extend rallies and make life difficult for players who hate the grind, which gives him a route into the match if Opelka's serve does not dominate from the start.
The matchup is tilted by the court conditions, but not enough to erase the basic problem for Opelka: his game is much more effective on hard courts and grass than on clay, while Budkov Kjaer is the sort of opponent who should be able to work the longer exchanges in his favor. If Opelka protects serve and keeps the points short, he can force the Norwegian to play from behind. If not, the match may turn into the kind of grinding contest that suits Budkov Kjaer far more than it does him.