Alex Michelsen of Aliso Viejo, California has a very bright future indeed. On Sunday in the first round of the 2025 Australian Open, Michelsen, the 42nd ranked player in the world, defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, the 11th ranked player, 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. The victory for Michelsen was significant when you consider the fact that Tsitsipas is a two-time grand slam finalist as he made the final two of the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open.
Who does Michelsen play next?
Next up for Michelsen is Australian James McCabe, who is ranked 258th in the world. Michelsen, ironically beat McCabe in the first round of the 2024 Australian Open, 7-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Other Upsets
Meanwhile, there were two players ranked in the top 10 who did not advance to round two. They were the ninth seed, Andrey Rublev of Russia, and the 10th seed, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria,
Rublev lost in straight sets to Joao Fonseca of Brazil, 7-6, 6-3, 7-6. Like Michelsen, Fonseca has an extremely bright future as he just won the Next Generation ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia last month. In the final, he beat Learner Tien of the United States, 2-4, 4-3, 4-0, 4-2. As for Dimitrov, he withdrew from the first round due to a strained adductor muscle. At the time of the withdrawal, he was trailing Francesco Passaro of Italy, 7-5, 2-1.
Who were the other Americans that advanced?
Michelsen is one of 11 American men who are in round two in Melbourne. The others are the fourth seed and 2024 United States Open finalist Taylor Fritz of Rancho Santa Fe, California, the 12th seed and 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul of Boca, Raton, Florida, the 17th seed and two-time United States Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe of Atlanta Georgia, the 21st seed and 2023 United States Open semifinalist Ben Shelton of Atlanta, the 22nd seed Sebastian Korda of Bradenton, Florida, Reilly Opelka of St. Joseph, Michigan, Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks, California and qualifiers Mitchell Krueger of Fort Worth, Texas, Tristan Boyer of Altadena, California, and Tien of Irvine, California.
There are also eight American women in round two. They are the third seed and 2023 United States Open champion Coco Gauff of Atlanta, the seventh seed and 2024 United States Open finalist Jessica Pegula of Buffalo, New York, the eighth seed and 2024 United States Open semifinalist Emma Navarro of New York, New York, the 10th seed and 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins of St. Petersburg, Florida, the 19th seed and 2017 United States Open finalist Madison Keys of Rock Island, Illinois, 2019 French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova of Freehold Township, New Jersey, Caroline Dolehide of Hinsdale, Illinois and wildcard Iva Jovic of Torrance, California.
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