Three Americans battled into the ATP Delray Beach Open semifinals on Friday, on an exciting day of tennis showcasing three-set matchups, hot-shots and more.
LWOT breaks down Friday’s matches, and has everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s semifinals.
Learner keeps on learning
Learner Tien was down 5-4 in the third set on Thursday against Miomir Kecmanovic, staring down defeat against the tournament’s defending champion. He won that match, and found himself in the same situation against Frances Tiafoe on Friday — this time in front of a primetime night crowd.
But Tien reeled off the last four games of his quarterfinal to stun Tiafoe 7-6 (5) 3-6 7-5 in an epic. He’s now taken out the 2018 and 2025 Delray Beach champions this week.
“’I’ve really shown myself that these matches aren’t over until they’re really done,” Tien said. “I just go out there, no matter the score.”
He was asked Friday about his result at last year’s Delray Beach Open, where he fell in a crushing loss to Matteo Arnaldi, unable to clinch in a third-set tiebreaker.
“I actually was sitting inside that building having a pretty rough go of it,” said Tien, pointing to a nearby player center. “So yeah, I think that person from a year ago would be pretty surprised to see where I am now.”
Tien led 3-0 in the first set on Friday, but Tiafoe soon broke back and looked to serve out the first set twice. But Tiafoe struggled mightily on his serve in the key moments, and he only saved one of the seven break points he faced all match. Tiafoe lost the opening set, and later slammed a ball out of the stadium after dropping serve to open the second set.
After Tiafoe took a medical timeout in the second set, the momentum shifted. Tiafoe won the second set 6-3, crushing a backhand return down the line to break serve one game prior.
A laser return by Tiafoe, and he’ll serve for the second set in the @DelrayBeachOpen quarterfinals. pic.twitter.com/a54wpFXWiD
— Andreas Pelekis (@atp3417) February 21, 2026
Tiafoe looked like he was cruising early in the third set. He won the first eight points of the set, and dictated the rallies with his forehand and return. Tien nearly trailed by a double break in the decider. But the youngster gradually got the vocal crowd on his side, and by the end of the matchup, chants of “Learner” echoed in the stadium after he set up match point.
Tien credited his mom for the Friday win. He initially gave her a shoutout during his on-court interview, saying he didn’t want his parents to leave on Saturday as originally planned.
“I’m making them stay, so I’m glad I won,” he said.
Learner Tien comes back from the brink yet again in Delray Beach. He defeats Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (5) 3-6 7-5 and will play the winner of Taylor Fritz vs. Tommy Paul in the @DelrayBeachOpen Saturday semifinals. pic.twitter.com/Q3xEKpszmv
— Andreas Pelekis (@atp3417) February 21, 2026
Top seed defeated
Tien will face Tommy Paul in the semifinals, after he upset top-seeded Taylor Fritz in a rematch of the 2024 Delray Beach Open final. That 2024 final unusually played out on a Monday after a rainout, but this quarterfinal encounter was under a rowdy Friday night crowd.
Paul did not lose serve all match, sealing a 6-4 6-3 victory in 77 minutes. Fritz hit 29 unforced errors, many due to Paul’s defense. In arguably the most important point of the match, Paul snuck a backhand passing shot past the top seed, and did not drop a game afterwards. Paul cited his movement as the key to victory after the match.
Tommy Paul completes the 6-4 6-3 upset over Taylor Fritz to move into the @DelrayBeachOpen semifinals. His patriotic superfans are quite happy. pic.twitter.com/Eht5f7mPGc
— Andreas Pelekis (@atp3417) February 21, 2026
“I moved so well and didn’t really give too many short balls in the court,” Paul said.
His fans, and his superfans — three high school students known as the “Founding Fathers” — cheered him on along the way.
“Normally I get a bit nervous coming to this tournament for the first couple matches, because I want to do well here,” Paul said. “I don’t want to let anybody down. So as the tournament goes on, I feel more and more loose. I get better and better, and I feel the energy from the crowd a little bit better.”
Paul will face Tien in the semifinals; he called Tien someone “who makes the right decision on every ball.”
Around the grounds
Sebastian Korda was the third American to reach the Saturday semifinals. He upset No. 2 seed Casper Ruud in a 4-6 6-2 6-2 tussle. Not including matches ending in a retirement, Korda’s quarterfinal win was his second Top 20 victory since March 2025.
Korda will face the Italian Flavio Cobolli, who fought his way into his first ATP Tour semifinal since last summer. Cobolli let match points slip in the second set against the up-and-coming Coleman Wong, but prevailed 7-5 6-7 (7) 6-2.
Korda and Cobolli will clash in the first semifinal at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The all-American clash of Tien vs. Paul will take place at 8 p.m.
