#NextGenATP Tien advances in Delray Beach, former champ Norrie 'hangs tough'

#NextGenATP American Learner Tien continued his eye-catching start to the season on Wednesday when he advanced to the second round on debut at the Delray Beach Open.

The 19-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough run to the fourth round at the Australian Open last month, upsetting Top 10 star Daniil Medvedev en route. Competing for the first time since Melbourne, the wild card moved past Australian Adam Walton 6-4, 6-3 in Delray Beach.

The No. 82 in the PIF ATP Rankings controlled the tempo of the clash with his clean baseline hitting, winning 64 per cent of points (14/22) on Walton's second serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to seal victory in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting after one hour and 28 minutes.

Tien, a finalist at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, will next face fourth-seeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi at the ATP 250 hard-court event.

Cameron Norrie sealed his return to the Delray Beach quarter-finals with a 7-6(9), 6-2 victory against Arthur Rinderknech. The 2022 champion saved a set point and converted his eighth to win a gruelling opener before motoring to a two-hour victory.

“I felt like I started the match well, even though I was down a break,” said Norrie, who improved to 10-3 in Delray Beach. “I hung tough and managed to win some of those longer rallies in the first-set tie-break, so I could take confidence from that. I was really enjoying the longer rallies and embracing the tough moments. Winning matches like this when you’re not feeling your best like this, you can take so much confidence from [them].”

Watch Delray Beach Extended Highlights from Wednesday:

Norrie, who is making his first appearance at the ATP 250 since lifting the trophy in 2022, will face third seed Alex Michelsen in the quarter-finals — a rematch from last week's first-round match in Dallas, won by the Briton.

Michelsen advanced after Michael Mmoh retired midway through the second set. Mmoh won a marathon 82-minute first set 7-6(8), yet called a medical timeout at 0-3 in the second set. Struggling to change directions from what appeared to be a right hip injury, Mmoh was unable to continue.

Mmoh, who was competing in just his third event since last April, walked off court emotional, draping a towel over his head.

Marcos Giron, a semi-finalist in Delray Beach last year, was a 6-3, 6-4 winner against lucky loser Ethan Quinn. The fifth seed committed just 10 unforced errors to Quinn’s 24 and dropped just one point behind his first serve (23/24). Giron will next play Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.