Three Americans have reached the Delray Beach semifinals, resulting in a Team USA showdown between Learner Tien and Tommy Paul. Sebastian Korda will battle Flavio Cobolli for a spot in the title match.
(5) Tommy Paul vs. (4) Student Ten
In 2025, Tien needed a wildcard to gain entry to the Delray Beach Open. Twelve months later (despite a much stronger field this year) he is number 4 and started his tournament in the second round, after a bye in the first round. Although Tien is one of the title favorites this time, he certainly took the nice route to the semi-finals. The world number 23 outlasted defending champion Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) and then came back from 4-2 down in the third set to beat Frances Tiafoe 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 on Friday evening.
Next up for Tien in Saturday’s semi-finals is a first-ever meeting with Paul, who is in resurgent form after an injury-plagued campaign in 2025. The 24th-ranked American has already won 10 matches this season, including a semi-final appearance in Adelaide, a fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open (lost to Carlos Alcaraz) and now a semi-final appearance in Delray Beach. So far this week he has ousted Corentin Moutet, Adam Walton and Taylor Fritz – the latter convincingly 6-4, 6-3. Even though these are two Americans, this is a home game for Paul, a native of Boca Raton. His level was even better than Tien’s this week and he has a lot more experience on the business side of ATP tournaments, so Paul should have an advantage.
Choice: Paul in 3
(3) Flavio Cobolli vs. Sebastian Korda
Both Cobolli and Korda admitted earlier this week that they were in dark places when they arrived in Delray Beach. Cobolli was on a four-match losing streak with losses to three opponents ranked outside the top 100. Korda fell to world No. 174 Michael Zheng in the first round of the Australian Open and then was upset by world No. 143 Zachary Svajda in the final of a Challenger tournament. The 25-year-old played better in Dallas but missed a big opportunity in a third-set tiebreaker setback against Fritz in the quarterfinals.
Despite all that, either Cobolli or Korda will play for the Delray Beach title on Sunday after playing each other for the third time in their careers. Both of their previous encounters have gone Korda’s way; 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4 at the 2024 Rome Masters and 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 a few months later in the Washington, DC final. The fiftieth-ranked American should be in line for more success on Saturday. Prior to this week, he had already won considerably more matches than Cobolli and his form against Alex Michelsen and Casper Ruud in the second round and quarters respectively was particularly impressive.
Choice: Korda in 2
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