MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥� Alex Michelson joked that he was too busy at the on Saturday morning to have a lengthy phone conversation with his mother back home in California. His excuse was pretty good, actually: The 20-year-old Michelsen was on court for a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over No. 19 seed Karen Khachanov.
That victory put Michelsen in the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time 鈥� and was his second win in less than a week over an opponent ranked in the top 20. He eliminated No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets in the opening round.
鈥淢om, hi! I'm sorry I only called you for a minute this morning. I had things to do,鈥� the 42nd-ranked Michelsen said, looking into a TV camera during his post-match interview at John Cain Arena. 鈥淚 love you. I miss you. I hope everything鈥檚 good at home.鈥�
He'll now face No. 8 Alex de Minaur of Australia for a berth in the quarterfinals. De Minaur beat No. 31 Francisco Cer煤ndolo 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-3 later Saturday.
Michelsen is the second-youngest man from the United States since Andy Roddick in 2003 to get this far at the Australian Open 鈥� two years ago, Ben Shelton was about 1 1/2 months younger than Michelsen is now.
Michelsen is part of a crop of Americans making moves in the brackets at Melbourne Park. Six U.S. men and five women from the country reached the third round 鈥� both tournament highs.
And Michelsen has done it by defeating two players with some real success at the hard-court event in the past: Tsitsipas was the runner-up in Australia in 2023; Khachanov lost to him in the semifinals that year.
Michelsen, who is coached by 2005 U.S. Open semifinalist Robby Ginepri, converted all four break points he earned against the big-serving Khachanov and compiled an impressive 39 winners to 27 unforced errors.
鈥淚 played unbelievable most of that match. I don't know what's going on. ... I鈥檝e never hit my forehand that well,鈥� Michelsen said. 鈥淧layed some of my best tennis at the end.鈥�
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AP tennis:
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
