Three of the biggest attractions at the Dallas Open won’t be involved in the first round.
The top four seeds all enjoy byes into the second round and their number include Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton.
The 2024 Dallas Open is one of three events taking place in the coming week on the ATP Tour.
The third iteration of the event will take place from 5-11 February 2024.
The American trio of Tiafoe, Paul, and Shelton are the headliners in Dallas that much is clear but they won’t be the only players enjoying great support.
Reilly Opelka, a past champion here, acquired a wildcard to participate after a lengthy injury hiatus that cost him his ATP ranking; rising stars Ethan Quinn and Adam Neff received the other wildcards.
Tiafoe and Shelton are the top and third seeds in Dallas.
Tiafoe will be looking for his first back-to-back wins of the season, while 21-year-old Shelton, is coming off a third-round run at the Australian Open.
In Dallas, where he is competing for the first time, Paul is positioned as the second seed.
Paul is searching for his first tour-level championship since his victory in Stockholm in 2021.
The No 2 seed will open his tournament against either Japan’s Taro Daniel or France’s Constant Lestienne.
Before qualifiers are entered into the draw, there are a total of 12 Americans who already have their place in the 28-player draw.
Christopher Eubanks, Marcos Giron, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Michael Mmoh, Ethan Quinn, Adam Neff, ASlex Michelsen, Mitchell Krueger, and Zachary Svajda participate alongside Paul, Tiafoe, Shelton.
Tiafoe will open his Dallas campaign against either Michelsen or a qualifier.
At the Australian Open, Michelsen accomplished a new precedent by making it to the third round of a major tournament, to cap off an excellent start to the season.
The 19-year-old, who competed in the Next Gen ATP Finals last season, will want to rack up points swiftly this term in an effort to make it back to Jeddah in December.
Shelton also faces the prospect of a meeting with either a qualifier or a compatriot as he is drawn to face the winner of a first round clash between Michael Mmoh and a player determined this weekend.
France’s Adrian Mannarino rounds off the top four seeds and players with a first round bye.
Mannarino will face either Pedro Martinez or Christian Zahalka-coached Yoshihito Nishioka.
At least one more American is guaranteed to come through the qualifying tournament with two All-US clashes bracketed alongside one another meaning one of Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, Trevor Svajda, Jerry Barton or Denis Kudla will be in the event.
