DELRAY BEACH, February 13, 2024
The North American hard-court swing continues this week in Florida with the 26th edition of the Delray Beach Open. Delray Beach, located in Palm Beach County, is a charming coastal city known for its beautiful beaches, vibrant downtown area, and rich cultural offerings.
Nestled along the southeastern coast of the Sunshine State, the city with about 70,000 inhabitants boasts a warm and inviting atmosphere, making it a popular destination for tourists and residents alike.
Hello, 🇺🇲 Delray Beach! 👋#TravelTheTour #DBO@DelrayBeachOpen 🎾 pic.twitter.com/ckHH7Wwde7
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) February 12, 2024
Kypson upsets Kecmanovic
Main draw matches of the ATP Tour 250 event kicked off Monday at the Delray Beach Tennis Stadium in perfect weather conditions with temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius. Local wild card entry Patrick Kypson delighted his home crowd in the final match of the day, as he upset No. 5 seed Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia 6-4, 7-6(3) under the lights on Center Court to secure his first tour-level victory.
The Wild Card Delivers!
Patrick Kypson gets his first ATP tour-level victory with a straight-sets win over Kecmanovic in Delray Beach!@delraybeachopen pic.twitter.com/2yTMeFhUSa
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 13, 2024
Kypson, who arrived at Delray Beach with a lot of confidence after lifting his third ATP Challenger Tour career trophy at the Cleveland Open, fired 12 aces and won 90 per cent of his first-service points to advance in one hour and 30 minutes. Up next for the World No. 155 from North Carolina will be Frenchman Constant Lestienne, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Aleksandar Vukic from Australia.
Earlier in the day, No. 6 seed Matteo Arnaldi of Italy rallied past Yoshihito Nishioka from Japan 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to face either Rinky Hijikata of Australia or Briton Liam Broady.
US-American trio leads the field
An US-American triumvirate of Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul headlines the field at the Delray Beach Open. The World No. 9 and defending champion Fritz is chasing his seventh ATP Tour crown in Florida. The top seed will face Nuno Borges of Portugal in his opening second-round match. Borges beat Canadian lucky loser Gabriel Diallo, who replaced Dominik Koepfer of Germany, 6-4, 7-6(1) in one hour and 50 minutes to celebrate his first win since becoming the first Portuguese player to reach the fourth round in Australian Open history.
French veteran Adrian Mannarino, Daniel Evans of Great Britain and #NextGenATP Chinese Juncheng Shang will also feature at the hard-court event. If 19-year-old Shang can defeat Moldavian qualifier Radu Albot in the first round, he’ll setup a rematch with second seed Tiafoe, whom he defeated last month in Hong Kong.
Up-and-coming 19-year-old US-American Alex Michelsen also faces a qualifier in the first round, taking on Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia. If he gets through that he’ll take on third-seeded Paul. Michelsen reached the final in just his second ATP Tour main draw last summer in Newport before turning pro and is currently the youngest player in the Top 100.
