In an impressive display of skill and determination at the Nexo Dallas Open, both Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, the tournament’s top two seeds, kicked off their campaigns with solid victories. This ATP 500 event showcased the depth of American tennis, with Fritz and Shelton quickly establishing themselves as strong contenders.
Top seed Taylor Fritz faced a challenging matchup against fellow American Marcus Giron. After a tightly contested match, Fritz prevailed with a scoreline of 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(1). Despite dropping the second set, Fritz displayed remarkable resilience, particularly in the third set where he held off Giron, who had managed to claim a set. Notably, Fritz did not face a single break point in the decider, although he had four opportunities to break Giron’s serve throughout the match. His focus paid off in the tiebreak as he raced to a 6-0 lead, eventually sealing the match. Following his victory, Fritz remarked, “I know it sounds crazy, because I didn’t break serve, but I think that whole third set is the best set of tennis I’ve returned. From a returning serve standpoint, that’s the best returning set I’ve played in years, I think.”
Fritz’s match was punctuated by a creative shot from Giron that drew gasps from the audience—a behind-the-back play that, while impressive, was met with humility from Fritz, who explained, “The shot I hit is cool, but it’s honestly not that hard to hit. It was one of those where it was actually the only option I had.” Giron later acknowledged that his performance was not affected by any new injuries, although he did seek treatment for an existing leg issue.
Ben Shelton, the second seed, found his stride with a more straightforward victory over Gabriel Diallo of Canada, winning 6-4, 6-4. Shelton showed composed handling of pressure situations by saving all three break points he faced.
In addition to the American duo, Marin Cilic celebrated a milestone by achieving his 600th career victory against sixth-seeded Learner Tien with a score of 7-5, 7-6(4). Upsets also marked the day’s action, including British qualifier Jack Pennington’s impressive 6-2, 6-2 win over Italy’s fourth seed Flavio Cobolli and Alex Michelsen’s narrow victory against Grigor Dimitrov, finishing at 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Earlier in the day, Brandon Nakashima joined the growing roster of American players advancing to the second round, joined by Sebastian Korda, eighth-seeded Frances Tiafoe, and Aleksander Kovacevic. The Nexo Dallas Open is shaping up to be a thrilling showcase of talent from American tennis as it progresses through the tournament.
