{"id":486119,"date":"2026-02-17T16:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/486119\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:56:12","slug":"michelsen-denies-vacherot-tiafoe-cruises-in-delray-beach-atp-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/486119\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelsen denies Vacherot, Tiafoe cruises in Delray Beach | ATP Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

Delray Beach
\n Michelsen denies Vacherot, Tiafoe cruises in Delray Beach<\/p>\n

Atmane, Wong also advance at ATP 250<\/p>\n

February 17, 2026<\/p>\n

Andrew Patron\/BigShots Photo<\/p>\n

Alex Michelsen advances to the second round of the Delray Beach Open Monday.
\n By ATP Staff<\/p>\n

Alex Michelsen<\/a> marked his return to the Delray Beach Open<\/a> with a composed performance Monday, navigating gusty winds and a testing opponent to advance at the ATP 250 hard-court event.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old American defeated sixth seed Valentin Vacherot<\/a> 7-6(4), 6-4 to earn his second win over a Top 30 opponent this season and reach the second round in Delray Beach for the third straight year. Michelsen, who reached the semi-finals last year, did not face a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats, throughout the one-hour, 28-minute match.<\/p>\n

Majestic Michelsen \ud83e\udd38\ud83e\ude84<\/p>\n

Last year’s semi-finalist takes out [6] Vacherot 7-6(4), 6-4#DBOpen<\/a> | \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Delray Beach pic.twitter.com\/UN60yGG1Hh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ATP Tour (@atptour) February 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI live here now. I have an apartment 20 minutes from here, so it\u2019s like my home tournament,\u201d Michelsen said. \u201cIt\u2019s great. I\u2019m from California but I emigrated here. I absolutely love it here. Everyone\u2019s so nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

After triumphing in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Vacherot, Michelsen can look ahead to a second-round meeting with Sebastian Korda<\/a> or Mackenzie McDonald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another local favourite advanced through when eighth seed Frances Tiafoe<\/a> ousted Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata<\/a> 6-4, 6-4 in just 73 minutes.<\/p>\n

“I’m happy, I’m happy. Really happy about it. I thought I played pretty well tonight. I hope you guys enjoyed it, it was fun. Good stuff,” Tiafoe said. “Thanks everybody for coming out. It’s nice to have another home tournament.”<\/p>\n

Tiafoe won his first ATP Tour title in Delray Beach in 2018 and is now 12-4 at the tournament. He will next take on another American: Aleksandar Kovacevic<\/a> or qualifier Zachary Svajda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cATP\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

In other action on Day 1 in Delray Beach, Terence Atmane<\/a> earned his first ATP Tour victory since October with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win over Patrick Kypson<\/a>, while qualifier Coleman Wong<\/a> upset Nuno Borges<\/a> 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 to advance.<\/p>\n

Marcos Giron<\/a>, who has made at least the quarter-finals in three consecutive appearances at the ATP 250 event, defeated Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro<\/a> 6-3, 7-5. The American saved all nine break points he faced to move on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n