Dallas champion Tommy Paul extended his winning run on home soil with a comeback, three-set win on Thursday at the Delray Beach Open. In his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with #NextGenATP star Alex Michelsen, Paul earned a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4) victory in the all-American showdown.
After a three-hour thriller full of momentum shifts, Paul advanced to his 30th tour-level quarter-final and his 24th on hard courts.
"That was a crazy one, a little longer than I would have liked for sure," the third seed said post-match. "He's a great player, he makes everything super tricky. It's hard to break his serve, hard to beat him backhand to backhand. He's definitely improving every week and he'll be on Tour for a long time for sure."
Tommy Prevails 👏@TommyPaul1 extends his match winning streak to 5 with a battling win over Michelsen 5-7 6-4 7-6(4)!@DelrayBeachOpen pic.twitter.com/n9P3wkmoQP
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 15, 2024
In addition to their shared nationality, both Paul and Michelsen committed to play college tennis at the University of Georgia before deciding to forgo their NCAA eligibility to turn pro.
Paul fired 15 aces and saved nine of 11 break points in the match, including two crucial escapes at 2-3 in the second and third sets. He tallied 35 winners, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and won 14 of his 17 net points.
The 26-year-old, one of the stars of the latest season of Break Point, will bid to extend his five-match winning streak against Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals.
Australia's Thompson, who beat Rafael Nadal in Brisbane last month, advanced to his 20th tour-level quarter-final with a 6-2, 6-2 win against American qualifier Nicolas Moreno De Alboran. The 29-year-old entered this week at a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 42 and has not lost a set in Delray Beach. He began his run at the ATP 250 by upsetting seventh seed Daniel Evans 7-5, 6-0 in the opening round.
Frances Tiafoe headlined the Delray Beach evening session and delivered in front of his home fans with a 7-6(5), 7-6(4) victory against Radu Albot. The second-seeded Tiafoe regrouped to claim the first set after failing to serve it out at 5-3, then battled back from 2-5 the second set, saving a set point at 5-6 to force another tie-break.
The crowd is loving every second! 🤩@FTiafoe knocks out Albot 7-6(5) 7-6(4) to secure a quarter-final spot in Delray Beach!@DelrayBeachOpen | #DBOpen pic.twitter.com/yoxGmNpNYN
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 16, 2024
Both Tiafoe (2018) and Albot (2019) are former Delray Beach champions, as is reigning titlist Taylor Fritz. Of the three, Tiafoe's 10-3 record at the event is the best, with the American now through to the quarter-finals for the fourth time in his five appearances.
He will next meet lucky loser Flavio Cobolli on Friday, after the Italian's 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-2 win against American qualifier Zachary Svajda.
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