Alex Michelsen

American tennis player (born 2004)
Alex Michelsen
Michelsen at the 2023 Cary Challenger II
Country (sports) United States
Born (2004-08-25) 25 August 2004 (age 19)
Aliso Viejo, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Turned pro2023
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachJay Leavitt, Eric Diaz
Prize money$631,793
Singles
Career record16–19 (45.7%) (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 70 (1 April 2024)
Current rankingNo. 70 (1 April 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (2024)
US Open2R (2023)
Doubles
Career record0–1 (0%) (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 414 (14 August 2023)
Current rankingNo. 516 (29 January 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
US Open1R (2022)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US Open2R (2023)
Last updated on: 8 April 2024.

Alex Michelsen (born August 25, 2004) is an American professional tennis player. Michelsen has a career high ATP singles ranking of world No. 70 achieved on 1 April 2024. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 414 achieved on 14 August 2023.[1] He is currently the second youngest player in the top 100 and one of four teenagers.

Junior career

Michelsen won the singles and doubles title at the 2022 Easter Bowl, becoming the first American champion in both disciplines since Donald Young in 2006.[2] He also won the 2022 Wimbledon Boys' doubles title with Sebastian Gorzny. He was committed to play college tennis at the University of Georgia, but then decided to turn pro.[3]

Professional career

2022: Grand Slam doubles debut

In August 2022, Michelsen made his Grand Slam doubles debut at the US Open playing alongside Sebastian Gorzny, losing in the first round.

In November 2022, Michelsen won his first title on the ITF Tour in East Lansing.

2023: Turning Pro, ATP, Major & Top 100 debuts, First ATP final & Challenger title

In February, Michelsen reached his first Challenger final in Rome, USA, losing to Jordan Thompson.[4] In March, Michelsen received a qualifying wildcard for the 2023 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. In June 2023, he made his ATP debut at the 2023 Mallorca Championships as a lucky loser, losing in the first round to eventual champion Christopher Eubanks.

In July, Michelsen won his first Challenger title in Chicago, defeating Yuta Shimizu in the finals. Later that month, he reached his first final on the ATP Tour at the 2023 Hall of Fame Open in Newport,[4] where he lost to second seed Adrian Mannarino.[5] Michelsen turned professional two weeks later, foregoing his college eligibility[3] and in August, he made his debut at a Major when he received a wildcard into the men's singles event at the US Open.[6] He defeated Albert Ramos Viñolas in straight sets to progress to the second round where he lost to 23rd seed Nicolás Jarry.[7] As a result, he reached a new career high of No. 117 on 11 September 2023. At the same tournament, he also enters the mixed doubles competition with Robin Montgomery and reached the second round on his debut.

Next he reached the semifinals at the 2023 Cary Challenger II but lost to eventual champion Zachary Svajda.[8] He won his second Challenger in Knoxville and made his top 100 debut.[9][10] In November, he qualified for the 2023 Next Generation ATP Finals.[11]

2024: Major third round, top 75, first top-10 win, Masters debut & first wins

He reached the third round at the 2024 Australian Open defeating wildcard James McCabe and 32nd seed Jiří Lehečka on his debut at this Major. As a result, he reached the top 75 in the singles rankings.[12]

At the 2024 Dallas Open he defeated qualifier Tennys Sandgren but lost to top seed Frances Tiafoe.[13][14] The following week at the 2024 Delray Beach Open,[15][16] he defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets.[17][18] He lost to Dallas champion Tommy Paul in a tight match with a third set tiebreak.[19] At the next tournament, the 2024 Los Cabos Open, in the following week, he entered as an alternate and defeated another alternate player Constant Lestienne. He recorded the biggest win and first top-10 win of his career, defeating newly arrived top-10 player and the fourth seed, previous year runner-up Alex de Minaur in straight sets, losing only 5 games, to reach the quarterfinals.[20][21] He lost to eventual champion Jordan Thompson after winning the first set 6-0 and having three match points.[22] At the 2024 BNP Paribas Open he recorded his first Masters win over Jaume Munar on his debut. At the age of 19, he became the youngest American player to win a match at this level since Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe were both winners at that same age in Miami in 2017.[23][24] He lost again to fellow American, 17th seed Tommy Paul. He also made his debut at the 2024 Miami Open and recorded his first win over qualifier Lukas Klein in straight sets.

He recorded his first ATP clay court win at the 2024 BMW Open in Munich with a win over wildcard Max Hans Rehberg.[25]

Performance timelines

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles

Current through the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open.

Tournament 2023 2024 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 3R 0 / 1 2–1 67%
French Open A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wimbledon A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Win–loss 1–1 2–1 0 / 2 3–2 60%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters Q1 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Miami Open A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Monte-Carlo Masters A Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Madrid Open A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Italian Open A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 2–3 0 / 3 2–3 40%
Career statistics
Tournaments 5 11 Career total: 16
Titles 0 0 Career total: 0
Finals 1 0 Career total: 1
Overall win–loss 7–8 9–11 0 / 16 16–19 46%
Year-end ranking 97

ATP career finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP Tour 250 Series (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–1)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (0–1)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 2023 Hall of Fame Open, United States 250 Series Grass France Adrian Mannarino 2–6, 4–6

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 9 (4–5)

Legend
ATP Challenger (2–2)
ITF Futures (2–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–5)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2022 M15 Winston-Salem, USA World Tennis Tour Hard (i) United Kingdom Toby Samuel 1–6, 5–7
Win 1–1 Nov 2022 M15 East Lansing, USA World Tennis Tour Hard (i) United States Alexander Kotzen 7–6(7–2), 6–1
Loss 1–2 Jan 2023 M25 Malibu, USA World Tennis Tour Hard United Kingdom Arthur Fery 4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Win 2–2 Jan 2023 M15 Edmond, USA World Tennis Tour Hard (i) Sweden Lucas Renard 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–4), 6–1
Loss 2–3 Feb 2023 Rome, USA Challenger Hard (i) Australia Jordan Thompson 4–6, 2–6
Loss 2–4 Mar 2023 M25 Calabasas, USA World Tennis Tour Hard United States Nathan Ponwith 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–7
Win 3–4 Jul 2023 Chicago, USA Challenger Hard Japan Yuta Shimizu 7–5, 6–2
Win 4–4 Nov 2023 Knoxville, USA Challenger Hard (i) United States Denis Kudla 7–5, 4–6, 6–2
Loss 4–5 Nov 2023 Champaign, USA Challenger Hard (i) United States Patrick Kypson 4–6, 3–6

Doubles: 2 (1–1)

Legend (doubles)
ATP Challenger (0–0)
ITF Futures (1–1)
Titles by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 2022 M15 Memphis, USA World Tennis Tour Hard United States Cooper Williams United Kingdom Millen Hurrion
New Zealand Finn Reynolds 		0–6, 1–6
Win 1–1 Nov 2022 M15 East Lansing, USA World Tennis Tour Hard (i) United States Learner Tien United Kingdom Joshua Goodger
United Kingdom Emile Hudd 		6–4, 6–3

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 2022 Australian Open Hard Paraguay Adolfo Daniel Vallejo United States Bruno Kuzuhara
Hong Kong Coleman Wong 		3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Win 2022 Wimbledon Grass United States Sebastian Gorzny France Gabriel Debru
France Paul Inchauspé 		7–6(7–5), 6–3

Wins over top 10 players

  • Michelsen has a 1–1 (50.0%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.[26][27]
Season 2024 Total
Wins 1 1
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score AMR
2024
1. Australia Alex de Minaur 9 Los Cabos Open, Mexico Hard 2R 6–4, 6–1 74
*As of 21 February 2024[update]

Equipment

Alex Michelsen's equipment of choice includes the Babolat Pure Aero racket, complemented by RPM Blast strings.

References

  1. ^ "Alex Michelsen | Overview | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  2. ^ John, Andrew L. "Orange County native Alex Michelsen wins singles, doubles at Easter Bowl in Indian Wells". The Desert Sun.
  3. ^ a b "Michelsen Turns Pro, Forgoing College Eligibility". August 6, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Eichenholz, Andrew. "The Rapid Rise Of Alex Michelsen". ATP Tour.
  5. ^ "Mannarino Ends Michelsen's Dream Run, Wins Newport Title". ATP Tour.
  6. ^ "John Isner joins talented teenagers among 2023 US Open men's wild cards".
  7. ^ "Arthur Fils & Alex Michelsen Earn Wins on US Open Debuts | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  8. ^ "The Fierce Competitive Spirit of Alex Michelsen | ATP Tour | Tennis".
  9. ^ "#NextGenATP Trio Michelsen, Darderi, & Nardi Claim Challenger Titles; American Michelsen cracks Top 100". 13 November 2024.
  10. ^ "#NEXTGENATP TEEN MICHELSEN ON TOP 100 DEBUT: 'THIS ISN'T THE END GOAL'".
  11. ^ "Michelsen, Medjedovic & Nardi Qualify For Next Gen ATP Finals". Next Generation ATP Finals. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  12. ^ "#NextGenATP pair Michelsen, Shang charge into AO R3".
  13. ^ "Frances Tiafoe beats 19-year-old Alex Michelsen to reach Dallas Open quarterfinals". Associated Press News. 9 February 2024.
  14. ^ "American Tiafoe into quarterfinals at Dallas Open". 9 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Michelsen's magnificent rise: 'I'm really proud of myself'".
  16. ^ "Michelsen's magnificent rise: 'I'm really proud of myself'".
  17. ^ "Michelsen makes dominant Delray Beach debut".
  18. ^ "Michelsen makes dominant Delray Beach debut".
  19. ^ "Paul Michelsen Delray Beach Open 2024 Thursday | Delray Beach Open | Tennis". 16 February 2024.
  20. ^ https://twitter.com/atptour/status/1760464423628513606
  21. ^ "Michelsen stuns De Minaur, Tsitsipas starts title defence in Los Cabos". 22 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Ruud rolls, Tsitsipas advances to Los Cabos semi-finals; Thompson saves three match points, beats Michelsen".
  23. ^ "Alex Michelsen comes full circle at Indian Wells".
  24. ^ "Michelsen makes U.S. history with Indian Wells debut win".
  25. ^ "Michelsen clinches first tour-level clay-court win in Munich". 15 April 2024.
  26. ^ "AM Win/Loss".
  27. ^ "Alex Michelsen vs Top 10". Tennis Abstract.

External links

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