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The ATP 250 in Delray Beach is giving new meaning to the phrase "best seats in the house" this week—and Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli played that fact up in his quarterfinal loss to Frances Tiafoe.

As premium hospitality and offerings continue to elevate on-site experiences at sporting events, the longtime ATP Tour stop is no exception, and has given fans a fresh perspective on the on-court action this week. Cushoned lounge chairs have been stationed on-court inside Delray's main stadium for the entirety of the event so far, allowing for a brand-new kind of up-close-and-personal, and eagled-eyed fans noticed that two fans were seated inside a BMW car that was on display during Tiafoe's second-round win over Moldova's Radu Albot.

But Cobolli made it clear that the players have picked up on it, too.

At one point during his 6-4, 6-2 loss to No. 2 seed Tiafoe, the 21-year-old, playing in his third tour-level quarterfinal, swung by the lounge chairs and greeted the fans seated there with a quick wave. Longtime ATP and WTA coach Sven Groeneveld posted the clip on X, and joked the moment was "only scripted by the ATP Tour"—perhaps a veiled reference to the tour's reality-show-style content series that rolled out on its social media channels earlier this month.

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Classic lounge chair greetings by @cobollifla at @DelrayBeachOpen only scripted by the @atptour pic.twitter.com/dYE1ynON0F
— SvenTennis.eth (@sventennis) February 16, 2024

While the initiative has been met with confusion, and even derision, from the avid tennis fans who've watching at home, Delray Beach might be the perfect place to soft-launch an immersive watching experience: Palm Beach County resident Tiafoe says that the community is one of the most tennis-mad places in the U.S.

“Tennis in Florida is really big. People really enjoy it. I definitely like being here," he told *The Palm Beach Post* prior to the start of the tournament. "Great fans — people who enjoy tennis. ... Great people who are super nice and chill and a super big tennis community here,"

Those fans will no doubt be thrilled by the all-American semifinal slate that's set for the weekend. No. 1 seed Taylor Fritz will face unseeded Marcos Giron, while No. 2 seed Tiafoe will face No. 3 seed Tommy Paul

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Baseline

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Fans sitting on court get a greeting from Flavio Cobolli in his Delray Beach loss to Frances Tiafoe

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