Three Americans advanced to the semifinals in Delray Beach, leading to an all-USA team showdown between Student Tien and Tommy Paul. Sebastian Korda will fight Flavio Cobolli for a spot in the title match.
(5) Tommy Paul vs. (4) Student Tien
In 2025, Tien needed a wild card to gain entry into the Delray Beach Open. Twelve months later (despite a much stronger field this year), he is the 4th seed and his tournament started in the second round after the first round bye. Although Tien is among the favorites for the title this time around, he certainly took a spectacular route to the semifinals. The world number 23 outlasted defending champion Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) and then came back from 4-2 down in the third set to beat Frances Tiafoe 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 on Friday night.
Next up for Tien in Saturday’s semi-final is a first-ever meeting with Paul, who is in resurgent form following an injury-plagued 2025 campaign. The 24th-ranked American has won 10 matches this season, including a semifinal in Adelaide, a fourth-round match at the Australian Open (lost by Carlos Alcaraz), and now a semifinal in Delray Beach. So far this week he has taken out Corentin Moutet, Adam Walton, and Taylor Fritz – the latter in 6-4, 6-3 fashion. Even though these are two Americans, this is a home game for Paul – a resident of Boca Raton. His quality has been much better than Tien’s this week and he has more experience in the business end of ATP tournaments, so Paul should have the edge.
Pick: Paul at 3
(3) Flavio Cobolli vs. Sebastian Korda
Both Cobolli and Korda admitted earlier this week that they were in a dark place when they arrived in Delray Beach. Cobolli has been on a four game losing streak against three opponents ranked outside the top 100. Korda knocked out No. 174 Michael Zheng in the first round of the Australian Open and was upset by No. 143 Zachary Svajda in the final Challenger tournament. The 25-year-old played better in Dallas but saw a big opportunity slip away on the way back in a third-set match against Fritz in the quarterfinals.
Despite all that, Cobolli or Korda will play for the Delray Beach title on Sunday after facing off for the third time in their careers. Both of their previous meetings have gone Korda’s way; 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4 at the 2024 Rome Masters and 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 a few months later in the Washington, DC final. The 50th-ranked American should have a chance for more success on Saturday. He was already winning more games than Cobolli before this week and his form against Alex Michelsen and Casper Ruud in the second round and quarters, respectively, was very impressive.
Select: Korda in 2
