Four Americans are through to the quarterfinals in Delray Beach, among them top seed Taylor Fritz and No. 6 Brandon Nakashima. Fritz will face Matteo Arnaldi, while Nakashima will be tested by Matteo Arnaldi.

(1) Taylor Fritz vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

The U.S. Open–where he finished runner-up last summer–is probably his favorite tournament, but at the lower levels of tennis it has to be the Delray Beach Open for Fritz. His winning streak in Delray currently stands at nine matches, as Fritz lifted the trophy in both 2023 and 2024 before beginning his latest title defense with a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over Bu Yunchaokete on Thursday night.

Up next for the world No. 4 on quarterfinal Friday is a fifth meeting with Davidovich Fokina. They have split their four previous contests, but Fritz won their only other hard-court showdown (albeit indoors) 7-5, 6-2 at the 2022 Paris Masters. Davidovich Fokina has been struggling for almost a year now, but he has done well this week to defeat Taro Daniel and Mackenzie McDonald. Unfortunately for the 60th-ranked Spaniard, his upcoming opponent looks pretty much unbeatable in Delray Beach.

Pick: Fritz in 2

(4) Matteo Arnaldi vs. (6) Brandon Nakashima

Arnaldi and Nakashima will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Friday. Their only previous encounter came at the 2022 NextGen ATP Finals in Milan, where Nakashima prevailed in five sets. It is the 43rd-ranked American who has home-court advantage this time around, and so far he is playing great in front of the Delray Beach fans. Nakashima secured his spot in the last eight by beating James Trotter in straight sets and an in-form Reilly Opelka in three.

It looked like Arnaldi would be packing his bags on Thursday night, but Learner Tien failed to serve out their second-round match and the Italian ended up triumphing 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(1). This is Arnaldi’s second consecutive quarterfinal appearance, having reached the same stage last week in Dallas–where he defeated Davidovich Fokina and Chris Eubanks. The world No. 38 is looking good and should be playing without pressure on the heels of his impressive escape against Tien.

Pick: Arnaldi in 3