The day after he lost second spot in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, Alex Michelsen responded in style at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships.
The #NextGenATP American on Thursday upset fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on his debut at the ATP 500 in Tokyo. With his one-hour, 48-minute win, Michelsen rose back above Chengdu champion Shang Juncheng into second in the Live Race as he bids for his second straight appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.
Flying into the second round ✈️
Alex Michelsen comes from a set down to grab one of the biggest wins of his career, d. Tsitsipas 4-6 6-1 6-2.@japanopentennis | #kinoshitajotennis pic.twitter.com/ifWo8m36K8
After coming through qualifying to earn a main-draw spot in Tokyo, Michelsen converted all five break points he earned against Tsitsipas, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The Greek appeared to struggle with the hot and humid conditions in the Japanese capital, and he could not build on his momentum after taking the opening set in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash.
It was a second Top 20 win on hard courts for the 20-year-old Michelsen, who also defeated Alex de Minaur in Los Cabos earlier this year. His next opponent in Tokyo will be his fellow qualifier Christopher O’Connell or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Tsitsipas’ defeat was a blow to his hopes of reaching the Nitto ATP Finals for the sixth consecutive year. The 26-year-old remains 12th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 570 points adrift of eighth-placed Alex de Minaur, who currently occupies the last qualification spot for the prestigious season finale.
There were also first-round victories for a pair of leftys on Thursday in Yoshihito Nishioka and Jack Draper. Japanese star Nishioka saved two match points before prevailing 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(5) against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Atlanta champion Nishioka snapped a four-match losing streak in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Auger-Aliassime to reach the second round at his home event for just the second time in seven appearances. The World No. 59 will next take on sixth seed Holger Rune or Alejandro Tabilo.
US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper earned a more comfortable opening victory. The Briton downed qualifier Mattia Bellucci 6-4, 6-2 to set a second-round meeting with second seed Hubert Hurkacz.
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