Tiafoe eases into Dallas quarterfinal with straight set win over Michelsen

Dallas (US), Feb 9

Top seed Frances Tiafoe registered 6-4, 6-3 victory over fellow American Alex Michelsen to reach the Dallas Open quarterfinals.

Tiafoe, who last year cracked the Top 10 in the ATP Rankings, brought out all his tricks in his opening match at the ATP 250 event. He combatted the awkward baseline game Michelsen with an all-court performance.

Late in the second set, he even purposely carved a backhand drop volley with so much backspin, it bounced back to his side of the court.

“It was incredible. You guys really enjoyed yourself, 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, so I appreciate it," Tiafoe said in his on-court interview.

According to ATP Stats, Tiafoe won 52 per cent of his return points and converted five of his eight break points. He will next play another countryman in Marcos Giron, against whom he owns a 3-1 ATP Head-to-Head advantage.

In other action, seventh seed Jordan Thompson cruised past lucky loser Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-1. The Australian will try to slow down the big-serving game of third seed Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.

German lefty Dominik Koepfer also advanced with a 6-3, 7-6(5), victory over Australian Rinky Hijikata. Koepfer will next challenge second seed Tommy Paul.