Dallas top seed Taylor Fritz will continue his spicy rivalry against France’s Arthur Rinderknech on Wednesday in Dallas, while fellow American Reilly Opelka battles Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko.

(1) Taylor Fritz vs. Arthur Rinderknech

Taylor Fritz isn’t normally the type to get himself into a feud with a fellow player, but that’s exactly what happened between him and his Dallas Open first-round opponent, France’s Arthur Rinderknech. Here’s the timeline:

• 2023 French Open second round – Fritz and Rinderknech play in front of a boisterous French crowd who took to cat-calling between points after Rinderknech won the first set. When the American won in four sets, the crowd continued to voice its dissatisfaction with the result and he held his finger to his lips to quiet them.
• 2024 Wimbledon – Prior to another second-round match, Rinderknech did a little trash-talking to the media about Fritz: “The atmosphere will be quieter (than last time) and he won’t cry as much. He whined a bit saying it was too noisy. I hold no grudge against him, but he was wrong if he thought the French crowd would send him kisses in between points.”
• 2024 Wimbledon (after Fritz beat Rinderknech again) – Fritz hears about the trash talking, gets annoyed and tells Rinderknech to “have a nice flight home”

Spicy.

And now they are meeting in the first round in Dallas. It remains to be seen if they will carry their grievances into 2025, but since the potential is there, you can count on the fact that there will be more interest in this one than a world No. 4 vs. the world No. 60 would normally generate. Look for Fritz to make it 3-0.

Cheryl pick: Fritz in 2

Ricky pick: Fritz in 2

Reilly Opelka vs. Alexander Shevchenko

American Reilly Opelka is playing much better than his ranking would suggest. The 27-year-old was sidelined for years with wrist and hip injuries. He limped through the 2024 season, but he came out of nowhere at the Australian Open tuneup event in Brisbane. Not only did he make the final, but he also beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to get there. Opelka, ranked 145th, lost a heartbreaker in the second round of the Australian Open to Tomas Machac–but he still played well.

Alexander Shevchenko has had a dismal start to the 2025 season. He won a couple matches at the United Cup (also lost a couple at that team event) and crashed out of the Australian Open in the first round to Carlos Alcaraz. The Kazakh is an anemic 3-3 on the year so far and despite his much higher ranking (82nd) he cannot reasonably be considered the favorite in this one.

Cheryl pick: Opelka in 2

Ricky pick: Opelka in 2