Tommy Paul outlasts rising Michelsen to reach Delray Beach quarters

Tommy Paul needed nearly three hours to edge out 19-year-old prospect Alex Michelsen 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Thursday evening at the Delray Beach Open. The third-seeded American, last week’s champion at the Dallas Open, had his hands full from start to finish but nevertheless pulled through to stretch his winning streak to fi e.

Paul, ranked No 14, will face Australian Jordan Thompson for a spot in the semi-finals on Friday in Florida.

“It was a little longer than I would have liked for sure,” Paul told Blair Henley after looking up the victory in two hours and 55 minutes. “He’s a great player, he makes everything super tricky – it’s hard to break his serve, it’s hard to beat him backhand to backhand. He’s definitely improving every week, and he’ll be on tour for a long time for sure.”

Paul improves to 8-2 on the season and reaches his 30th ATP quarter-final. 75th-ranked Michelsen, who reached the third round on his Australian Open debut in January, drops to 4-5 on the season. He drops to 0-4 lifetime against the top 20.

Michelsen, ranked No 75, beat Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis (6-1, 6-2) in the previous round of the Delray Beach tournament.

Delray Beach ATP 250, other second-round results (Delray Beach Stadium and Tennis Center, hard, USD 661.585, most recent results first):

• Radu Albot vs. Frances Tiafoe
• Zachary Svajda vs. Flavio Cobolli
• Jordan Thompson beat Nicolas Moreno De Alboran (Q): 6-2, 6-2
• Taylor Fritz (1) beat Nuno Borges: 7-6 (5), 6-4
• Marcos Giron beat Adrian Mannarino (4): 6-0, 6-7 (5), 6-1
• Rinky Hijikata beat Matteo Arnaldi (6): 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
• Patrick Kypson (WC) beat Constant Lestienne: 6-4, 6-4