Benjamin Bonzi beats Reilly Opelka in Brussels | ATP Tour

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Bonzi continues his ‘Opelka October’ with Brussels victory

Geelong beats Bellucci on first day of ATP 250

October 13, 2025

Benjamin Bonzi managed to thwart Reilly Opelka’s big serve for the second time this month at the BNP Paribas Fortis Europe Open in France on Monday.

Just 11 days after Bonzi defeated the 6-foot-11 American in straight sets in Shanghai, the 53rd-ranked American in the PIF ATP Rankings repeated the feat 6-4, 6-4 in Brussels. Bonzi withstood 13 of Opelka’s aces and held off a decisive five-match win at 3-3 in the first set to win in 70 minutes at the indoor hard-court ATP 250.

“Certainly it’s easier when you play against someone this past week and I know how he’s going to serve,” Bonzi said in an on-court interview. “But the conditions here are completely different from Shanghai. It’s much slower in China. It’s quite fast here. It’s indoors, so his serve is more efficient.”

“When I managed to get the ball back up the court, I was really happy with the way I got his serve back and scored. It was a great first game.”

Bonzi, who has a 14-19 record this season according to the Infosys ATP Win-Loss Index, will face either sixth seed Sebastian Baez or compatriot Valentin Royer in the second round in Brussels. The 29-year-old is looking to build on an impressive record at indoor events: he ended the 2024 season with a 21-1 indoor record (including ATP Challenger Tour events) and lifted his first ATP Tour title in Metz.

Marcos Giron was another first-round winner in Brussels on Monday. The American easily defeated Mattia Bellucci 6-3, 6-4 and will meet fourth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Giron has not won a set in either of their two previous meetings with the Spaniard at the Lexus ATP, although they have not met since the 2023 US Open.