The Delray Beach Open may be an ATP 250 event, but it is not about to get overshadowed by 500-point tournaments in Doha and Rio de Janeiro this coming week.
Delray’s field is one of its strongest ever, headlined by Americans Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Learner Tien, and Sebastian Korda. Casper Ruud and Flavio Cobolli are the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively. Other seeded players include Valentin Vacherot and Brandon Nakashima, while the unseeded contingent features Marin Cilic, Alex Michelsen, Gabriel Diallo, and defending champion Miomir Kecmanovic.
Fritz currently finds himself in the Dallas final and he has been dealing with a whole host of physical issues this season, so his participation in Delray Beach may be a question mark. If he does turn up, the top seed could face Ethan Quinn in round two and either Paul, Diallo, Eliot Spizzirri, or Corentin Moutet in the quarters. The top half of the bracket is also home to Tien, Tiafoe, and Kecmanovic.
The Cobolli-Nakashima section in the bottom half of the draw is by far the weakest. Cilic, a semifinalist in Dallas, may be able to take advantage. Ruud, Vacherot, and Korda also have to like their chances of potentially reaching the final.
First-round matches to watch include Vacherot vs. Michelsen, Nakashima vs. Cilic, Paul vs. Moutet, and Quinn vs. Rafael Jodar.