Alex Michelsen the first big name to fall at Australian Open

MELBOURNE: American Alex Michelsen claimed the biggest win of his career when he stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4 in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday as the Greek 11th seed became the first major casualty at Melbourne Park.

Michelsen had beaten Tsitsipas at the Japan Open last year and the 20-year-old American kept his unbeaten record against Tsitsipas, a 2023 finalist at the Melbourne Grand Slam.

Michelsen kept his cool under pressure on rallies and found success at the net while his baseline game looked effortless as he fired 46 winners past Tsitsipas, who had pulled out of the doubles draw at Melbourne Park to focus on his singles campaign.

“My whole role was to try to go deep into the Australian Open. I knew the first thing I had to consider was not play doubles,” said Tsitsipas, who also exited last year’s US Open in the first round.

“I guess karma hit me, I was not able to deliver or play the way I was hoping to… The whole purpose was just to save up on some energy and be fresher hopefully in the deeper draw of the tournament.”

Tsitsipas looked well in control in the first set but midway through he began making several errors off Michelsen’s serve before the American pounced in the 12th game, taking the set with a backhand winner down the line.

The turning point in the second set came when Michelsen was 4-3 up and he produced a disguised forehand drop shot that left Tsitsipas well short as the crowd roared its approval.

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Michelsen even put his hand up in apology even though the ball did not touch the net cord on its way over and Tsitsipas never recovered as his young opponent went 5-3 up and served out the set to love in the final game.

Renewed focus

But the Greek began the third set with renewed focus as he raced into a 4-1 lead and seemed to have rediscovered his range on his first serve, forcing plenty of errors from Michelsen.

With the American serving to stay in the set, Tsitsipas had set point when he fired a backhand down the line and this time he read another drop shot from Michelsen to smash a forehand winner to get on the scoreboard.

Tsitsipas’s momentum evaporated in the first game of the fourth set, however, when Michelsen broke the 11th seed, who was left fuming as he smashed his racket on his kit bag.

A flurry of searing return winners from Michelsen at 4-4 gave him the opportunity to serve for the match and he sealed victory with another powerful serve. “I just tried to stay super composed out there today, I knew it was going to be a battle in the end,” Michelsen said.

“I came in with the proper mindset and I executed the game plan.” Michelsen will play either Australian wildcard James McCabe or Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce in the next round.