The ATP Dallas Open was in full swing Tuesday night with the opening round continuing. There were eight matches played yesterday and six more matches slated for today. The Dallas Open is only a week-long tournament so the action will be fast, it will be swift and it will be exciting. Here are the results from a jam-packed round 1.
Marcos Giron vs (Q)Alex Rybakov
The first match on the dock for The Dallas Open saw American Marcos Giron take on fellow American Alex Rybakov. With that match at two games apiece, Giron was able to grab an early break. Giron was able to close it out and win the opening set 6-4. The second set was a back-and-forth affair, with each player breaking once. It eventually culminated in a tiebreaker.
In that tiebreak, Rybakov was hitting his backhand with such precision and won the tiebreak 7-1. In set three, with Giron holding serve in the opening game it was up to Rybakov to keep pace. Well, that did not happen as Giron broke early to go up two games to love. In a third set that if you blink you may have missed it, Giron wins the set 6-1 and the match 6-4 6-7(1) 6-1. Giron awaits the winner of the match between Oscar Otte and Christopher Eubanks.
Steve Johnson vs (8)Adrian Mannarino
In a first set that saw neither player lose their serve. In a tiebreak that was indicative of how the first set was played, it was back and forth. In the end, Mannarino hits an ace and wins the tiebreak 8-6 and the set 7-6. The second set started like the first, very back and forth. Once the set was two games apiece, Mannarino took the match and ran with it. After Mannarino held serve to increase his lead to 3-2, he never looked back. Mannarino won the final 4 games to win the set and the match 7-6(6), 6-2. Mannarino advances to the second round to face Jordan Thompson.
(6) J.J. Wolf vs (Q)Brandon Holt
Sixth seed J.J. Wolf was looking to capitalize on the run he made down in Australia, making it to the fourth round. In the opening set against fellow American Brandon Holt, Wolf was winning points due to his service games. Wolf had 6 aces and faced not one break point. He took the opening set 6-3. At two games all in the second set, Wolf got the break to go up 3-2. With Holt looking to stay in the match, serving at 3-5, Wolf was able to break and win the match. Wolf wins 6-3 6-3, and will face Radu Albot.
(5)John Isner vs Chun-Hsin Tseng
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Isner dominated with his serve, faced no break points, and ultimately went to a tiebreak to finish the set. Well, that’s exactly what happened. Isner was serving exceptionally, with 10 aces in the opening set, and took the tiebreak 7-5. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Well, in the second set, Isner did face a break point but was not broken. We went to another tiebreak but this time it was more one-sided as Isner won the tiebreak 7-1. Isner finished with a whopping 22 aces and zero, yes, I said zero double faults. Isner awaits the winner of the Zachary Svajda/Daniel Altmaier match.
Radu Albot vs (WC)Liam Krall
The first set was controlled by Krall and his serve, facing zero break points. Krall won 79% of his 1st serve and won the opening set 6-2. In the second set, the first serve, which was so good in the opening set for Krall, let him down in the second. Krall had an abysmal serving percentage of 46% and Albot had one break point opportunity and converted. Albot took the second set 6-4. The serving woes for Krall continued into set 3 as he served under 60% on his first serve and was broken twice. In the end, that’s all Albot needed as he won the third set 6-2 and the match 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Albot takes on J.J. Wolf in the next round.
Mackenzie McDonald vs (Q)Fernando Verdasco
After McDonald had the upset of his life when he eliminated Rafael Nadal down in Australia. He took on an opponent who knows Nadal very well in Fernando Verdasco. Well on this day, McDonald kept the momentum from Australia going. While McDonald had a 1st serve percentage of 44%, he was able to break Verdasco twice and take the opening set 6-3. The second set was a tale of good Mackenzie and bad Fernando. McDonald had a 75% first-serve percentage and broke Verdasco three times. Meanwhile, Verdasco only won 41% of his first serve points and won a shocking 1/7 second serve points for 14%. McDonald won that set 6-0 and the match 6-3, 6-0. McDonald sets up an intriguing round 2 match with number two seed Frances Tiafoe.
Jordan Thompson vs Denis Kudla
If you looked at the stats of the opening set between Kudla and Thompson, you’d be surprised the opening set was won 6-1. Kudla’s 1st serve percentage was over 60% but other stats tell the tale. Kudla only won half of his 1st serve points and was broken twice. Thompson won the opening set 6-1. In the second set, it was closer. However, the way Thompson was serving was extremely impressive. Thompson had seven aces, zero double faults, and won 85% of his 1st serve points. Kudla faced five break points, however, he only saved four of them. The one break Thompson needed won him the match. Thompson won in straight sets 6-1 7-5 and will play Adrian Mannarino.
Yibing Wu vs Michael Mmoh
In the first set of this match, the numbers tell the whole story. Michael Mmoh had a 1st serve percentage of 43% and only won 38% of his second serve points. He was also broken twice. Mmoh had two chances to break Wu but did not. Michael Mmoh lost the opening set 6-3. In the second set, however, is where Mmoh started to turn it around. Michael Mmoh had five aces to zero double faults, a first serve percentage of 67%, and broke Wu once. Not to say Wu played poorly, he also posted a first serve percentage of 67% and also won over 60% of his first serve points.
The one break was all Mmoh needed as he took the second set 6-3. The third set was won by the serve. Wu served six aces, won nearly 80% of his 1st serve points, and saved all the break points he faced. Michael Mmoh however, faced five break points and only converted four. Sometimes one breakpoint is all a player needs to turn the tide in a match. After Mmoh defeated Alexander Zverev in Australia, he falls here in an upset in Dallas. Yibing Wu wins the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Wu takes on Canadian and third seed Denis Shapovalov.
Main Photo from Getty.
