Michelsen's shocker: 'I am going to see that a million times over'
American Alex Michelsen earned a four-set win against Nishesh Basavareddy at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF on Wednesday but there is one moment he will not want to see again.
Serving for the third set at 3-2, 40/30, the 20-year-old failed to dispatch a routine volley on top of the net after he had worked himself into a dominant position in the point off a forehand smash. The 20-year-old was left with his head in his hands after squandering the simple chance, with Basavareddy going on to break Michelsen’s serve.
“It was a tough moment,” Michelsen said. “I am probably going to see that a million times later when I open Instagram. I thought he wasn’t going to get it back and then I didn’t want to reach over the net and smash it, so I went to drop it but I was a little tight when I saw it come back over and I just missed it.”
Michelsen went on to lose his serve on the deciding deuce point but responded in the third-set tie-break, rallying from 0/2 to claim the third set and then eventually the match in four sets in Red Group play.
“I am really happy with the way I re-grouped,” Michelsen said. “Six months ago I would have for sure lost that breaker 7-2, so I am super happy with the way I re-grouped and found the way.”
Michelsen made his debut in Jeddah last year but lost all three of his round-robin matches. Twelves months on and the American is back as the second seed and at a career-high No. 41 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Michelsen, who reached ATP Tour finals in Newport and Winston-Salem in 2024, is pleased with his development in the past year.
“I am more of a complete player compared to 12 months ago, both physically and mentally,” Michelsen said. “Last year I arrived off the back of just playing Challenger events and was not established on the Tour. Now I have a whole year’s experience on the Tour and that helped me get the win today.”
The American will take on Frenchman Luca Van Assche in his second round-robin match in Jeddah on Thursday.
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