Michelsen, Tien fly #NextGenATP flag in Winston-Salem

#NextGenATP Alex Michelsen led a teenage American charge Wednesday at the Winston-Salem Open, where the 19-year-old raced past Belgian Zizou Bergs 6-1, 6-2.

Competing this week at a career-high No. 52 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the 11th seed is into his sixth quarter-final of the season. Michelsen fended off the three break points he faced, all of which came in the opening set, and dropped just three points behind his first serve in the second set to advance.

"It was a good match. I played very well, didn't get broken, which for me is always a plus," said Michelsen, who next faces Christopher Eubanks. "I'm returning well right now, so hopefully I can give [Chris] some trouble tomorrow.

"I've been playing well the last couple weeks. The last match I lost was to Jannik [Sinner], so I feel like I'm playing pretty well right now."

The California native, who celebrates his 20th birthday Sunday, is second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. He is aiming for a return trip to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 18-22 December. Last year Michelsen did not advance beyond the round-robin stage. 

Michelsen's close friend Learner Tien continued his dream debut week on the ATP Tour by become the youngest American tour-level quarter-finalist since Brandon Nakashima in 2020 (Delray Beach). The 18-year-old cruised past Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-3.

Tien advanced through qualifying and has since built upon his momentum. He earned his maiden tour-level win in the opening round and next plays former World No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta in the last eight. 

As a result of his success, Tien has climbed two places to eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. The lefty is a two-time titlist at the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships (2022, 2023).

Tien is set to crack the Top 200 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time Monday. He has enjoyed great success on the North American hard courts this summer, claiming his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in July in addition to four ITF M15 trophies. 

Eubanks saved two match points to oust 17th seed Roman Safiullin 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(8). The 28-year-old trailed 5/6 and 7/8 in the deciding-set tie-break, but held his nerve to stay alive. Eubanks fired 16 aces and fended off nine of the 11 break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The American avenged last week's loss to Safiullin, who beat Eubanks in the quarters of the ATP Challenger Tour title in Cary, North Carolina, 100 miles east of Winston-Salem. Safiullin went on to win the title. Eubanks will next look to improve upon his 1-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Michelsen. Last year in Mallorca, Eubanks defeated Michelsen in a first-round three setter before eventually lifting the trophy at the grass ATP 250.

Australian Rinky Hijikata also saved two match points to reach the quarter-finals. Hijikata overcame last year's semi-finalist Borna Coric 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 after tallying four straight games from 3-5 in the decider. Coric twice had match point on his serve at 5-3.

Carreno Busta, the 2016 champion, defeated Australian Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to reach his sixth Winston-Salem quarter-final in eight appearances. The 33-year-old Spaniard surpassed Steve Johnson for the most match wins (18) in Winston-Salem tournament history.

Former World No. 7 David Goffin advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Arthur Rinderknech while 15th seed Pavel Kotov ended the run of American lucky loser Zachary Svajda 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

60th tour-level QF ?@David__Goffin gets the better of Rinderknech 6-3 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals in @WSOpen #WSOpen pic.twitter.com/PWrM8aIxtN

[NEWSLETTER FORM]