Cincinnati Masters: Michelsen ‘got nothing to lose’ as he gets set to take on Sinner

American qualifier Alex Michelsen won against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the Cincinnati Masters at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Tuesday.

Michelsen, ranked No 57, will play top seed Jannik Sinner next.

“It’ll be a lot of fun. I’ve got nothing to lose,” Michelsen said as quoted by the ATP website. “I’m going to go out there and try my best to swing free and have fun, and we’ll see what happens.”

His serve got better, and maybe his forehand got a little better, but the way he plays stayed the same.

Alex Michelsen on Jannik Sinner

“I don’t think his game has changed that much. I think he’s gotten a lot stronger and a lot faster and a lot fitter,” the American added. “But for me, I don’t think his game has changed that much. I think he’s changed some things. His serve got better, and maybe his forehand got a little better, but the way he plays stayed the same.”

This is the first meeting between Michelsen and Sinner. it also the American’s first clash against a top 5 ranked opponent.

“I played Zverev on Rod Laver (Arena) when he was sixth in the world, and I’m playing the World No. 1. I’ve never played anyone Top 5, so it’ll be a new experience, that’s for sure.”

Cincinnati Masters 1000, other first-round matches (Lindner Family Tennis Center, hard, USD 6,795,555, most recent results first):

• Jiri Lehecka beat Mariano Navone: 7-6 (3), 6-3
• Frances Tiafoe beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: 6-3, 7-6 (6)
• Luciano Darderi beat Alejandro Tabilo: 6-3, 7-6 (5)
• Sebastian Baez beat Marcos Giron: 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6)
• Zhizhen Zhang beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard: 6-3, 7-6 (4)
• Karen Khachanov beat Francisco Cerundolo: 6-0, 6-3
• Flavio Cobolli beat Tommy Paul (10): 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
• Brandon Holt vs. Arthur Fils
• Gael Monfils vs. Alexei Popyrin
• Adrian Mannarino vs. Nuno Borges
• Holger Rune vs. Matteo Berrettini
• Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
• Jack Draper vs. Jaume Munar
• Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Aleksandar Kovacevic
• Fabian Marozsan vs. Corentin Moutet
• Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Matteo Arnaldi
• Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Sebastian Korda
• Max Purcell vs. Tomas Machac
• Taylor Fritz vs. Brandon Nakashima
• Yoshihito Nishioka vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
• Lorenzo Musetti vs. Nicolas Jarry
• Ben Shelton vs. Reilly Opelka
• Jordan Thompson vs. Ugo Humbert