Citing a back injury, American Reilly Opelka retired from the Brisbane International final down 1-4 to Jiri Lehecka.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion lost fairly handily to 6-foot-11 American Reilly Opelka, 7-6 (6), 6-3, in the quarterfinals at Brisbane. It was the first top-10 win since 2021 for the 27-year-old Opelka, who hasn’t played a full season since 2022 due to injury.

Djokovic is in search of his 25th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, but fell short of the semifinals at his warm-up event.

Reilly Opelka follows his bif win over Novak Djokovic at Brisbane International with a semifinal victory over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic was beaten 7-6 (6), 6-3 by big-serving Reilly Opelka in the Brisbane International quarterfinals on Friday. Opelka served 16 aces — including one to finish off each set — to earn one of the biggest wins of the American's career.

Jiri Lehecka claimed the Brisbane International men's title after Reilly Opelka retired with an injury while trailing 4-1 in the opening set.

Czech Jiri Lehecka has won the Brisbane International after feelgood story Reilly Opelka retired with a back complaint when trailing 4-1 in the final.