Dallas Open Round-Up: Tommy Paul wins on top-10 debut, Cam Norrie outlasts Alex Michelsen

Great debut for Tommy Paul at the ATP 500 Dallas Open, as he overcame compatriot Jenson Brooksby in a tight match, winning 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 in his first match as a top-10 player. Meanwhile, one of the early season’s biggest surprises, teenager Alex Michelsen, couldn’t get past Cameron Norrie, who staged a comeback to win 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1.

A strong start for world No. 9 Tommy Paul at the Dallas Open. Facing him was his talented compatriot, who is on the comeback trail after a two-year suspension for missing doping tests. Brooksby (ranked No. 1,093) made his return at the Australian Open a few weeks ago, where he was crushed by Taylor Fritz in the first round, winning just five games.

He then suffered another loss to J.J. Wolf in straight sets at the Cleveland Challenger. However, in Dallas, he showed a much more competitive level against a top-10 opponent.

Paul had to fight harder than expected against the former world No. 33 but ultimately asserted his superiority to secure a hard-fought victory. The first set saw Brooksby take a 5-3 lead with a chance to serve it out, but Paul forced a tiebreak. Even so, Brooksby clinched it on his third set point, surprising the crowd by taking the opening set against the third seed.

From that moment on, Paul showed his character and turned the match around. In both the second and third sets, he broke early to go up 2-0. While Brooksby managed to recover a break in the second set, Paul never trailed again on the scoreboard. He closed out a commanding 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 victory and will face Ethan Quinn in the second round.

The world No. 36 dominated the opening stages of the match, quickly putting pressure on Norrie with his strong serving. Both players held serve until 2-2, but from there, Michelsen took over, securing back-to-back breaks to easily take the set 6-2. The teenager posted an impressive 88% first-serve percentage, losing just one point on serve.

However, everything changed in the second set when Norrie secured an early break and saved multiple break points to extend his lead to 2-0. Michelsen fought hard to stay in the set and eventually broke back at 4-4. But the British former Indian Wells champion held his nerve, dominating the tiebreak [7-1] to send the match to a decider.

Norrie’s experience in key moments proved too much for Michelsen, who saw his level drop significantly in the third set. The American conceded two consecutive breaks, allowing Norrie to race to a 5-0 lead. This time, Michelsen struggled on serve, winning just 63% of points on his first serve and going 0/7 on his second serve. The world No. 63 didn’t let his lead slip and sealed the win with a 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1 scoreline. He advances to the second round, where he will face the winner of Reilly Opelka vs. Alexander Shevchenko.