Tommy Paul and Jenson Brooksby will be squaring off for the second consecutive year in the Dallas Open first round when they meet again on Wednesday.
Paul prevailed in their Dallas encounter 12 months ago, winning 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4. The 24th-ranked American ultimately reached the semifinals (lost to eventual champion Denis Shapovalov) after capturing the title in 2024 (beat Ben Shelton in the semis and Marcos Giron in the final).
There is no reason why Paul can’t achieve more success at this tournament. The 28-year-old has recovered from all kinds of injury problems in 2025 and promptly advanced to the Adelaide semis and the Australian Open fourth round (lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz). He is making a quick turnaround following successful Davis Cup duty for Team USA on red clay of Hungary this past weekend, but it should not matter. Paul is such a good all-court player that he can quickly adapt amidst surface changes.
Brooksby has stumbled out of the gates in 2026, falling in straight sets to Sebastian Baez in the Auckland second round and in straights to Alexander Bublik in the Aussie Open first round. Look for Paul to take care of business in more routine fashion than he did last season.
Pick: Paul in 2