On the ATP Tour, tournaments are designed so that the best pre-qualified players shine and animate the week of competition. However, tennis proves time and again that nothing is guaranteed.

Tommy Paul, the tenth seed at the BNP Paribas Open, cruised past Altadena native Tristian Boyer in his opening match, 6-3, 6-1. As he was doing that, No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev was exiting the ...