For the first time since 1983, the ATP Tour heads to Dallas for the ATP Dallas Open a 250 event comprised of 28 singles competitors and 16 doubles teams. The indoor hard court tournament was founded to replace the New York Open, which ran from 2018-2020. The tournament will be held at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex home of the Southern Methodist University Mustangs.
The ATP Dallas Open has attracted some American stars fresh from their trip Down Under with the likes of Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka, and John Isner competing in the tournament. In fact, the Stars-and-Stripes will be very well-represented with 14 of the 24 automatic qualifiers in the field are from the Untied States. The seeds are: (1) Fritz (2) Opelka (3) Isner (4) Jenson Brooksby (5) Adrian Mannarino (6) Maxime Cressy (7) Marcos Giron and (8) Brandon Nakashima.
ATP Dallas Open Preview
Can an American grab an early season title?
With 12 players currently in the top 100, the United States is, as usual, well-stocked with talent in the professional ranks. That being said, Americans have struggled to win trophies in recent years. In 2021, American men competed in 10 ATP finals, winning just three of them. Two of those wins came on US soil at the Delray Beach Open (Sebastian Korda) and the Atlanta Open (Isner).
But there may well be hope for them this week, and not just because they comprise so much of the field. Big servers like Fritz, Opelka, and Isner should find success on the fast indoor-hard courts. With Americans seven of the eight seeded players, Dallas presents the perfect opportunity for someone to win this tournament in their home country.
Can Maxime Cressy continue his winning ways?
Maxime Cressy has been one of the stories to follow on the ATP tour through the early part of 2022. After spending most of his early career on the Challenger circuit, the former UCLA Bruin has risen from world number 112 to 59 in the first month of the season.
Cressy is primarily a serve and volley player which has caught some of his recent opponents off-guard, though he does not seem to be too concerned with what is going on on the other side of the net. The 24-year-old has amassed nine wins and lost just three matches so far in 2022. The losses? Against Rafael Nadal in the Melbourne final, Dan Evans in the semifinals in Sydney, and Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round at the Australian Open.
Cressy has a favorable draw in Dallas, facing a qualifier in the first round with a likely Isner rematch in the quarterfinals. Cressy took down Isner in five-sets in the first round at Melbourne Park last month.
Jenson Brooksby’s ATP Tour return
After over three months off, 21-year-old American Brooksby makes his return to ATP Tour level tennis in Dallas. Brooksby wrapped up his 2021 season in early November after withdrawing from the Paris Masters 1000. He also decided to skip the NextGen Finals due to injury concern.
A positive covid test knocked then Brooksby out of the Australian Open before it even began, denying the fast-rising young American the chance to shine in Australia. He competed in the Columbus Challenger event in late January instead, but fell to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the semifinals. Still that defeat probably didn’t hurt too much. After all, Brooksby started the 2021 season ranked 310th in the world and currently sits at a career high #54.
The Sacramento native really burst onto the scene at the 2021 US Open where he made a round of 16 run that saw him light up the New York crowd by taking a first set off of Novak Djokovic 6-1. He would drop the next three, but Brooksby has made a name for himself and allows American tennis fans to once again latch onto a young player with loads of potential. The difference, though, is that Brooksby is not your typical big serve/big forehand American. He is capable of grinding opponent’s down in long points and possesses some tricky shots. Keep an eye on his two-handed backhand slice throughout the week.
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