Alex Michelsen dropped back to the Challenger level (and promptly won a tournament) after Wimbledon. That’s where his hard-court summer began. It will end with a quarterfinal appearance — at the very least — at a Grand Slam.
Michelsen not only advanced to the last eight of the U.S. Open, but he did so without losing a single set. The world No. 46 is only third unseeded man in the Open Era to reach the quarters of a major without the loss of a set. He joins Juan Martin Del Potro (2016 U.S. Open) and Tomas Martin Etcheverry (2023 Roland Garros) on that very, very short list.
Ironically, Etcheverry was whom Michelsen beat in the fourth round on Sunday to punch his ticket to the last eight. Michelsen 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 46 minutes. Michelsen preceded that result with routine defeats Federico Cina, Brandon Nakashima, and Daniel Merida.
“I have been playing super well the whole week,” the 22-year-old American assessed. (I) haven’t dropped a set yet. I have a lot of emotions right now. I’m a little bit short for words, but I’m super happy.
“Yes and no,” he responded when asked if he is surprised by this run. “I’m a little bit surprised just because I feel like my run-up form wasn’t super good coming into this tournament. And I say no because I have been working my ass off for I don’t know how many years playing this sport. I’m a little bit surprised that it came like this, but at the same time I always had a feeling it would come.”
Michelsen’s reward is a Tuesday afternoon matchup with compatriot Frances Tiafoe, who leads the head-to-head series 2-0.
Three of the four remaining players in the bottom half of the draw hail from the host nation, as Ben Shelton is also still alive. The only exception is Carlos Alcaraz, whom Shelton will face on Tuesday night. In the top half, Learner Tien plays his fourth-round match on Monday.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.