delray beach
Paul beats Tian to reach Delray Beach finals
The 28-year-old saved six break points in the decider; final against Korda
February 22, 2026
Megan Briggs/Getty Images
Tommy Paul is seeking his fifth ATP Tour title.
Written by ATP Staff
Tommy Paul continued his pursuit of a fifth ATP Tour trophy by defeating Learner Tien in the U.S. semifinals of the Delray Beach Open on Saturday. Paul, who is eight years older than Tian, defeated the southpaw 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
In a high-quality battle, Paul showed excellent court coverage and controlled the long game, especially in the second set when he won the set point with an 18-shot exchange.
The 28-year-old powered on from there, leading 3-0 in the decider. Paul held serve at 3-1 for 10 minutes and saved four break points in that match. He again resolved the break point at 4-2, finishing in front of the net, and found a forehand winner when facing a break point at 5-3. According to Infosys ATP statistics, Paul saved six break points in the third set to reach the Delray Beach final for the second time (2024).
“He obviously played amazing tennis in the first set,” Paul said of Tian. “It was really hard for me to stay with him. I felt like he was a little bit better at everything than me, but I knew I had to mix things up and try to change the pace – go to the net a little more, chip a little more. I thought I did a good job in transition, serving and volleying.
“It’s the second time the finals are being played in Del Rey, so I’m really excited for tomorrow’s game.”
With the win that lasted 2 hours and 14 minutes, Paul ended a run of five consecutive tour semifinals that began when he won the ATP 250 title in Stockholm in 2024.
This week, Paul is ranked 24th in the PIF ATP Rankings, just one spot below Tien, whom he faces for the first time. Next, he will look to improve on his 2-4 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against compatriot Sebastian Korda.
The 25-year-old Korda defeated third seed Flavio Coboli 7-6(1), 6-1 to reach his first ATP Tour final in more than a year. Korda hit 12 aces and scored 82% of his second serve points, avoiding trouble against the Italians. He faced no break point in the 76-minute match.
“I thought it was a great match. I thought I served really well. I didn’t have a lot of pressure situations on my serve, which opened up the returns,” Korda said. “I thought I had a good tiebreaker and after that, I started to feel the ball a little better and return the ball a little better and put some pressure on him.”
The Delray Beach ATP 250 event has been a happy hunting ground for Koda, who currently has a 10-2 tournament record according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The American reached the final in 2021, losing to Hubert Hurkacz. Korda will try to take a step closer to the national finals.
“That’s where you want to be, especially in the United States,” Korda said. “You want these U.S. finals, and it’s definitely going to be the U.S. finals, so it’s going to be exciting for sure.”
