Top Things To Know
1) Young Guns
There are two young players in the draw who each reached their first Grand Slam fourth round last month at the Australian Open and made a splash at December's ATP Next Gen Finals, and they happen to be close friends. Third seed Alex Michelsen, 20, upset the 12th-ranked player in Australia, reached the Next Gen semifinals and has reached two ATP finals. Wild card Learner Tien, 19, upset the fifth-ranked player in Australia and defeated Michelsen in the semifinals at the Next Gen Finals. Both Californians, they've grown up in tennis together and support each other. Michelsen was seen watching Tien's doubles match with Ethan Quinn on Tuesday.
2) DBO Champions Everywhere
Several former Delray Beach Open champions will be in action on Wednesday. The 2022 singles titlist Cameron Norrie and doubles champions Robert Galloway (2024), Ariel Behar (2021) and Jackson Withrow (2018) will all be on court. Past singles finalists Miomir Kecmanovic (2023) and Yoshihito Nishioka (2020) face off against each other.
3) NCAA Champs in Delray Beach
Wednesday's matches also will feature two NCAA singles champions and an NCAA doubles winner. Fifth seed Marcus Giron, who won the 2014 singles title for UCLA, faces 2023 champion for Georgia Ethan Quinn, a lucky loser into the main draw who is looking for his fifth ATP Tour match win. The 2021 doubles champion from Tennessee, Adam Walton, teams up with former North Carolina Tar Heel Rinky Hijikata after his singles match.
4) Record for Number of Americans in Second Round (Still) on the Line
It's still possible to tie the record for most Americans in the second round with 9, equaling the record set in three previous years. Eight are already there. The last first-round match is played on Wednesday featuring American wild card Learner Tien against Australian Adam Walton.
Events on Wednesday, Feb. 12:
