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Top seed Frances Tiafoe thrilled the fans at the Dallas Open with a big show in his 6-4, 6-3 triumph against American Alex Michelsen to reach the quarterfinals.
"It was incredible. You guys really enjoyed yourself, and I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. I really love this city. I have a tonne of fun here. You guys really showed me a lot of love tonight, I appreciate it," Tiafoe said in his on-court interview, as quoted by ATP. He will next play another countryman, Marcos Giron. Tiafoe, who entered the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings last year, showed off all of his talents in his first match at the ATP 250 tournament. He overcame the uncomfortable baseline game of the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor with an all-court effort. Late in the second set, he purposefully hit a backhand drop volley with such much backspin that ball bounced back to his side of the court. "He started picking up his level. We were kind of feeling each other out in the beginning. Once he broke me, I had to really up my level. I wanted to be the aggressor and make things work on my terms. From there, I thought I played really well. A lot of creativity and I got a little lucky at times. It was a great night," Tiafoe said. In another play, seventh seed Jordan Thompson defeated fortunate loser Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-1. In the quarterfinals, the Australian hopes to slow down third-seeded Ben Shelton's powerful serving. German lefty Dominik Koepfer advanced with a 6-3, 7-6(5) win against Australian Rinky Hijikata. Koepfer will face second-seeded Tommy. German lefty Dominik Koepfer also advanced with a 6-3, 7-6(5), victory over Australian Rinky Hijikata. Koepfer will next challenge second-seeded Tommy Paul. (ANI)
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