Delray Beach top seed Taylor Fritz and Florida’s Tommy Paul will be the marquee match on Friday night under the lights. Fellow Americans Learner Tien and Frances Tiafoe will also be part of a blockbuster schedule.
(1) Taylor Fritz vs. (5) Tommy Paul
If the pattern holds from their previous meetings, it’s Tommy Paul’s turn to beat Taylor Fritz. These two friends and Davis Cup teammates have five previous main-tour meetings; Fritz won the first, third, and fifth, while Paul pocketed the second and fourth. Paul, who is ranked 24th in the world, is playing almost literally in his own backyard. The American lives one town away from Delray Beach in Boca Raton and he was really feeling it on the court against second-round opponent Adam Walton on Thursday night.
Fritz has a number of niggling injuries that he is dealing with. That hasn’t stopped him from securing the top server rating on the ATP Tour (he just edged out Jannik Sinner for those honors). Indeed, he has been serving very well this week — but he has played a lot of tennis of late and just hasn’t looked as sharp as Paul has so far.
Cheryl pick: Paul in 3
Ricky pick: Paul in 3
(4) Learner Tien vs. (8) Frances Tiafoe
Relative newcomer Learner Tien went into the 2026 season as the newly crowned champion of the NextGen ATP Finals. Alumni include Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas, so the tournament has been a bellwether event for future stardom — and he has looked every bit the breakout star hinted at by his early success. The American, who played a single semester at USC before turning pro in 2023, made an impressive run to the quarterfinals at the Australian Open last month. And based on current form, he has a decent chance of progressing to at least the semifinals this week.
Opponent Frances Tiafoe has been off the boil for a while, although he finished strong in his second-round match on Thursday against Zachary Svajda. Tiafoe is ranked 28th in the world, owing to a poor second half of the 2025 season. I’m giving Tien the edge in this one. He plays clever, tactical tennis — which doesn’t necessarily always make him the favorite, but Tiafoe’s brand of tennis relies on heavy hitting off the baseline. I just don’t think he’s playing consistently enough to throw Tien out of sorts.
Cheryl pick: Tien in 2
Ricky pick: Tien in 3