Michelsen beats Tsitsipas in first big upset of Australian Open

Alex Michelsen edged out Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 on Monday. He’ll face the winner of the match between Australian wildcard James McCabe and Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce in the next round

Jakub Mensik won against Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 on Monday. He’ll face Norwegian Casper Ruud, the No 6 seed, in the next round

Bren Gray

January 13, 2025

Australian Open •First round • completed

See draw

S. TsitsipasvsA. Michelsen

American Alex Michelsen advanced to the second round of the Australian Open by edging out Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No 11 seed, 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Monday.

The win was Michelsen’s first victory over a top-20 player at a Grand Slam, while it was Tsitsipas’ second consecutive first-round loss at a major.

Across the opening two sets, Michelsen held his own serve with ease and won the crucial points on his opponent’s, bagging two of three break points and denying Tsitsipas a look at any.

In the third, however, Tsitsipas found his range and broke Michelsen twice, while the American was unable to capitalise on either of his two chances.

He hit back quickly in the fourth, breaking Tsitsipas in the opening game of the set. That began an enthralling back-and-forth, which saw breaks in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth games.

Michelsen’s fearlessness ultimately got him the win, with a raft of searing returns on the Greek’s serve earning him the crucial break.

Tsitsipas: “It wasn’t really the way I’m expecting”

“It was a difficult first-round match,” Tsitsipas reflected after the match. “I knew I was dealing with a pretty serious opponent because I’ve played him before, and I have lost. So I knew coming into this match that things don’t suddenly change. He’s someone that there is reason he beat me in our previous encounter.

“So I knew I had to be on top of my game to try and win this match. I had a very slow start to the match. In terms of finding my movements and just dominating from the serve plus one, it wasn’t really the way I’m expecting it to work. That led to some frustration and, let’s say, insecurity in terms of approaching my game.

“You know, these are important shots in tennis, and if you are not able to deliver them at your highest intensity, that’s really difficult. I also felt like I didn’t have enough power in my shot today, so I ended up playing a bit more and kind of having to work twice or three times more every single point to try to win it.

“I just hope I’m able to retrieve that back and use that as a strength that I have within my game.”

Next up, the world No 42, will face the winner of the match between Australian wildcard James McCabe and Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce.

Melbourne (Grand Slam), other first-round results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 60.627.573, most recent results first):