by Hanlon Walsh
Top seed Tommy Paul will retrace his roots on Wednesday when he takes the court at River Oaks, the site of his first-ever ATP match win in 2016. Nine years later, Paul has since made his top 10 debut earlier this year and is coming off a career-best season in 2024, where he claimed three ATP titles and won 45 matches.
In his fourth appearance at the tournament, Paul will aim to break past the second round for the first time, having fallen at that stage in all three of his previous appearances (2016, 2022, and 2023).
The 27-year-old American carries high expectations in Houston. The tournament’s top seed has lifted the US Clay trophy in each of the past two years—Frances Tiafoe in 2023 and Ben Shelton in 2024. If Paul wins the title this week, it would mark the first time in tournament history that the No. 1 seed has claimed three consecutive US Clay championships.
USA vs. Chile Double-Header
Paul's first challenge comes against wildcard Cristian Garin, a Chilean clay-court specialist and the 2019 US Clay champion. In addition to his title run, Garin reached the quarterfinals in 2023 and semifinals in 2022. With an 11-2 record at River Oaks (85%), he holds the highest winning percentage among this year’s singles field.
Paul and Garin will headline Wednesday’s night session on Stadium Court, with their match set to begin not before 6 p.m.
Earlier in the day, Stadium Court will feature another American-Chilean showdown as No. 3 seed Alejandro Tabilo begins his US Clay campaign against qualifying wildcard entrant Jenson Brooksby, who is riding a three-match winning streak.
The Toronto-born Tabilo, who represented Canada in his junior career, had a breakout 2024 season, cracking the top 20 and capturing his first two ATP titles in Auckland and Queen’s Club.
Both Tabilo and Brooksby are making their second US Clay appearances, with their match scheduled as Wednesday’s second contest, not before 2 p.m.
Young American College Stars Square Off
With 15 American singles players competing and seven of those under age 26, this year’s field is continuing to produce marquee battles among young promising U.S. stars. And Wednesday will be no exception when 21-year-old Ethan Quinn takes on 22-year-old Colton Smith for a spot in their first career ATP quarterfinal.
Both players are close friends with strong college tennis ties. Quinn is the 2023 NCAA champion for University of Georgia and Smith is a current senior at University of Arizona balancing life between college and the pro tour.
"I didn't even know I was playing him [Colton] next round actually, so that's good to know. He's a good friend of mine. After I won NCAAs in 2023, he came to Fresno and stayed in my brother's room and spent time with my family. He has trained with me a lot over the years, and we've spent so much time together on the road and playing with and against each other in juniors. He's an amazing player and an incredible competitor. I'm excited to compete with him in an ATP main draw match this week." - Ethan Quinn
Another American college star trending upward is 26-year-old Aleksandar Kovacevic, a New York native and former Illinois standout who scored a massive first round victory over No. 7 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Kovacevic, who played the longest recorded first round match in tournament history last year, would earn his best US Clay result yet with a victory on Wednesday by advancing to the quarterfinals.
Corentin Denolly, a French qualifier ranked No. 327, entered both his first ATP qualifying and main draw event this week. Now he finds himself in the second round against Aleksandar Kovacevic, a New York native who scored a massive first round victory over No. 7 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Kovacevic, who played the longest recorded first round match in tournament history last year, would earn his best US Clay result yet with a victory on Wednesday by advancing to the quarterfinals.
Olympic Medalists Lead Wednesday Doubles Lineup
Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, 2024 Olympic silver medalists, open up Wednesday’s stadium court action against the Ecuadorian team of Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.
The Americans, the most accomplished doubles team in the US Clay field, are both former World No. 1s and own a combined 43 ATP titles between them, including five majors.
Houston fans will enjoy a trio of compelling doubles matches on Court 3 featuring a mix of grand slam doubles champions, veteran doubles specialists and young American stars. Top seeds Robert Galloway and Jackson Withrow kick off the doubles lineup against Brazil’s Rafael Matos and Marcelo Zormann. Galloway and Withrow are both top 35 doubles players with former college tennis ties at Wofford College and Texas A&M, respectively.
In the second doubles match, four Australians take the court in a battle for national Aussie pride. Between Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson versus Matthew Christopher Romios and Adam Walton. Seeded fourth, Thompson and Hijikata are both accomplished doubles players in their own right. Thompson is a two-time US Clay defending champion and won his first doubles major at the 2024 U.S. Open. The year prior, Hijikata won his maiden doubles slam on home turf at the 2023 Australian Open.
Concluding Court 3’s doubles slate is a matchup between young American talents Learner Tien (19) and Jenson Brooksby (24) against doubles specialists, Fernando Romboli of Brazil and Australia’s John Patrick Smith.
