Tommy Paul proved his first ATP World Tour win since 2016 was no fluke Wednesday.
On Monday night at the BB&T Atlanta Open, Paul grabbed his first victory in a main draw since a win in Houston in 2016. His win in three sets over seventh-seeded Hyeon Chung provided the first big upset in singles play.
Though not as big of one, Paul, who made the main draw through qualifying, once again outlasted a higher-ranked player in three sets Wednesday.
Facing Malek Jaziri — the 72nd-ranked singles player in the world — Paul fought back from losing the first set with 6-4 and 6-3 wins in the final sets. He also trailed Chung after the first set Monday. Paul got it done with his serves again, landing 70 percent of his first serves compared with just 52 percent from Jaziri. He faced only four break points in the match and saved two of them.
Gilles Muller broke up the upsets in the second singles match on the main court — though it didn’t come without a fight from the 134th-ranked player in the world, Quentin Halys. Muller, who is seeded third in the tournament and ranks 22nd in singles, breezed through the first set with a 6-4 win, but Halys bounced back and won the second set in a dominant tiebreaker. Muller responded with a 6-3 win in the third set to take the match and advance to the quarterfinals to take on Paul. There were just five combined break points in the match, with Muller saving both he faced. He broke Halys twice.
In the other upset on the day, hometown favorite Donald Young lost in straight sets to Lucas Lacko. Young, who lives in and grew up in Atlanta, never appeared to find a rhythm in a surprisingly lopsided match. The two had matched up twice previously — both in majors — and split the series.
Lacko breezed through the match with 6-3, 6-1 set wins. He didn’t face a break point in the match. Young appeared frustrated and bothered early, as he landed only 50 percent of his first serves. Lacko broke Young four times, which allowed for the easy victory.
Young has yet to find the success he’d like to in his hometown tournament. In his eighth appearance in the event, he now falls to 3-7 in the main draw. His quarterfinals run in 2016 remains as his best showing.
Lacko will move on to play another crowd favorite, former Georgia Bulldogs player John Isner, in the quarterfinals.
Though the tournament didn’t experience the significant weather delays that occurred Monday, a strange delay periodically suspended the match between Muller and Halys.
In the second set, the wiring that keeps the top of the net in place snapped in half without any apparent cause. Officials had to replace it, which took nearly 30 minutes before the match resumed.
