A pair of lefties will take the court at the Dallas ATP 500 on Tuesday in Learner Tien and Denis Shapovalov. They will face Marin Cilic and Rafael Jodar respectively in the opening round.
Marin Cilic versus (6) student Tien
There will be a seventeen-year age difference when Tien and Cilic play each other for the first time on Tuesday in the first round of the Dallas Open. Twenty-year-old Tien puts in another great performance at the Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round in 2025 and reached the quarter-finals last month. Cilic is probably coming to the end of his career at the age of 37, but he is still doing relatively strong at 61st place in the rankings.
Although Cilic clearly has much more experience in all conditions (including on indoor hard courts), early returns for Tien in this area are extremely encouraging. The world number 23 is 30-7 dating back to the start of the 2023 campaign. Cilic remains dangerous on relatively fast courts, but Tien is likely to get too many balls back into play and wear the veteran out if this becomes a relatively long match.
Choice: Ten in 3
(7) Denis Shapovalov vs. (Q) Rafael Jodar
Shapovalov is the defending champion in Dallas, having knocked out Taylor Fritz, Tomas Machac, Tommy Paul and Casper Ruud en route to the title. The 26-year-old Canadian also lifted the Los Cabos trophy in July, but has since compiled an 8-10 record. Shapovalov lost to Raphael Collignon 6-4, 6-2 in Brisbane and to Cilic 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 at the Australian Open.
First ranked at number 40 in the world on Tuesday is Jodar, whom he has never faced before. Jodar is 12-1 overall this season with a Challenger title, a second-round appearance in Melbourne as a qualifier and a successful qualifier in Dallas. The 19-year-old Spaniard also compiled a 2-1 record at the NextGen ATP Finals in December, including a victory over Tien. This is not a good place for a player who is out of shape and has a lot of points to defend, while facing a much younger opponent who is riding a wave of momentum.
Choice: Jodar in 3
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