ATP Delray Beach: Frances Tiafoe, Soonwoo Kwon, Ryan Harrison, Brandon Nakashima win

Former champion Frances Tiafoe is through to the second round in Delray Beach, beating Emilio Gomez 7-6, 6-2 in an hour and 29 minutes. The American had to play against only one break point, squandering the advantage in the opener before taking it in the tie break and bringing the victory home with three breaks overall. Opening a 5-2 lead in the opener, Frances got broken while serving for the set in the ninth game, allowing Gomez to bounce back and stay in touch until the tie break that Tiafoe claimed 7-3 with four mini-breaks. Sailing through his service games in set number two, Frances broke the opponent in games three and seven to seal the deal and secure the first victory on the ATP tournaments since Basel last October. Yoshihito Nishioka took down John Millman 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in just under two hours, getting broken twice and delivering four breaks to cross the finish line first and book the place in the last 16.

Millman made a rock-solid start, serving well in the opener and maintaining the lead he seized with a break in game two. Nishioka responded with back-to-back breaks in the closing stages of the second set, taking it 6-4 and never looking back after gaining a boost ahead of the decider. There, he stole Millman's serve in games four and eight to march over the top and reach round two. After a deep run in New York, the young Korean Soonwoo Kwon is off to a winning start in Delray Beach as well, beating Adrian Mannarino 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours. Mannarino had the upper hand in the opener after dominating on both serve and return, with Kwon responding with a break in game four of the second set that gave him a lot of confidence. The Korean secured the set with a hold at 15 in game nine, dominating in the decider with a couple of breaks to score the fourth win in 2020.

In his first ATP match since Houston last April, Ryan Harrison fended off all nine break chances in a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Damir Dzumhur in an hour and 25 minutes. Ryan earned three breaks to control the scoreboard for a much-needed victory after an injury that sent him out from the top-400. Brandon Nakashima became the second player born in 2001 with a win at the ATP event, beating Jiri Vesely 7-6, 6-1 in an hour and 21 minutes. Brandon fended off the only break chance he faced, prevailing in the opener and stealing Vesely's serve thrice to bring the triumph home and achieve the milestone result.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/37xrUKw