Tiafoe lives up to favoritism dispatches Karatsev in a tense match at DC Open.

Frances Tiafoe defeated Aslan Karatsev 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in the second round of the Dallas Open.

Karatsev played his first match since Wimbledon on Monday, where he fell in the second round to his compatriot Andrey Rublev. He secured a commanding victory over the qualifier from Australia, Kiranpal Pannu, with a score of 7-6(3), 6-1.

Tiafoe entered the main draw as the second seed and had a bye in the first round, advancing directly to the second match. The American began the grass-court season with a title at the Stuttgart Open, but couldn't continue the momentum.

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In the first match of the US Open series swing, which is his favorite part of the year, 'Big-Foe' faced a tough challenge against the always tricky Aslan Karatsev. Their only previous encounter was at the 2023 French Open exactly two months ago, where the American emerged victorious in four sets in the second round of the tournament.

In the first set, Karatsev displayed a strong service game, not conceding any break points to his opponent. He caused difficulties for 'Big-Foe' from the start, as the world No. 10 faced two break points in the first game and one more in the third.

Despite the initial difficulties, Tiafoe improved his first serve percentage and the set ended in a tie-break. The American secured a mini-break on Karatsev's first service, which was enough to take the set after his third set point.

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In the second set, it was Tiafoe who posed greater problems for his opponent, having some opportunities to break which he couldn't convert. With a score of 5-4 and serving in his favor, the North American faced a set point, but Karatsev couldn't capitalize, leading to another tie-break.

In the decider, both players managed to counter the opponent's serve, securing mini-breaks. Although the world No. 75 was 5-3 ahead with a service in his favor, Tiafoe managed to win four consecutive points, giving him the victory with a double 7-6 score.

In the third round, Tiafoe will face the 18-year-old Chinese sensation, Juncheng Shang, who advanced from the qualifiers and then defeated Emilio Gómez and the 14th seed Ben Shelton

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⚔️ Foe defends his house ⚔️ @FTiafoe is up and running at #MubadalaCitiDCOpen with a 7-6 7-6 win over Aslan Karatsev.

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