Top-four seeds Frances Tiafoe and Adrian Mannarino will begin their weeks in Dallas during second-round action on Thursday. Tiafoe is facing Alex Michelsen, while Mannarino is going up against Yoshihito Nishioka.
(1) Frances Tiafoe vs. Alex Michelsen
It will be an all-American affair when Tiafoe and Michelsen go head-to-head for the first time in their careers in round two of the Dallas Open on Thursday. Michelsen is embarking on the first full season of his professional career and early returns are extremely encouraging. The 19-year-old is already up to No. 75 in the world thanks to a runner-up performance in Newport, a third-round showing at the Australian Open, and a whole host of Challenger success. Michelsen continued his winning ways with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 defeat of Tennys Sandgren on Tuesday.
Tiafoe is off to slow start this season, with a Hong Kong quarterfinal loss to Jerry Shang followed by an Australian Open second-round exit at the hands of Tomas Machac. We have seen the world No. 14 fold as a favorite against a younger compatriot before, such as against Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals of the 2023 U.S. Open. An indoor hard court is an ideal surface for Michelsen, so don’t be surprised if an upset is in the cards.
Pick: Michelsen in 3
(4) Adrian Mannarino vs. Yoshihito Nishioka
Mannarino and Nishioka will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the second time in Dallas. They also faced each other in the second round of this event two years ago, when Mannarino cruised 6-3, 6-1. The Frenchman also won their first matchup 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 on the indoor hard courts of the Paris Masters in 2020.
There is no reason to think anything will be different this time around. Mannarino ended 2023 on fire and did so on indoor hard courts, with titles in Astana and Sofia. Picking up right where he left off, the world No. 17 upset Shelton en route to the Aussie Open fourth round before getting clobbered by Novak Djokovic. Nishioka, who scraped past lucky loser Terence Atmane 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 in his Dallas opener, is making a quick transition from the clay courts of Egypt after winning a pair of Davis Cup matches for Japan. Even with a match under his belt, this is a difficult situation for Nishioka–especially given the strength of the opponent.
Pick: Mannarino in 2
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Tiafoe in 3; Mannarino in 2.