Melbourne: Alex Michelsen of USA stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday. With the defeat, the Greek Tennis star became the first-seeded player in the tournament to face an upset. Tsitsipas became the first major casualty at Melbourne Park with a scoreline of 5-7, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6.
The 20-year-old from the USA had beaten Tsitsipas at the Japan Open last year and maintained his unbeaten record against the World No. 12. Michelsen was calm throughout the fixture and was successful at the net while smashing some rapid winners from the baseline. He clocked 46 winners in the match making it difficult for the opponent to secure a win.
Defeating a Top 20 player at a Grand Slam for the first time ✅
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 13, 2025
Handing Tsitsipas consecutive 1st round losses in Grand Slams✅
All at 20 ✅
What a star, Alex Michelsen@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/L22eV5UGqf
After the match, Tsitsipas opined that his decision to skip the doubles event backfired.
“My whole role was to try to go deep into the Australian Open. I knew the first thing I had to consider was not playing doubles,” said Tsitsipas, who also exited last year’s U.S. 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.”
The Greek tennis player was well in control at the start of the first. However, he started losing the plot midway by making several errors off Mitchelsen’s serve. The American youngster pounced on the opportunity in the 12th game and pocked the first with a backhand winner.
Michelsen showed his skill levels in the second set as well with a disguised forehand drop shot when he was 4-3 up. Tsitsipas was not able to reach there in time and the crowd applauded the trickery of the youngster. The American then sealed off the set with 6-3.
Tsitsipas bounced back in the third set forcing a lot of errors from his opponents and also fired some effective winners. However, Michelsen was quick to gain back the momentum in the fourth set and his 26-year-old opponent was left fuming after his service broken which led to him smashing his racquet on his kit bag in frustration.
“I just tried to stay super composed out there today, I knew it was going to be a battle in the end,” Michelsen stated after the match.
“I came in with the proper mindset, and I executed the game plan.”
