#NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen earned his first ATP Tour win in style Tuesday in Newport.
The 18-year-old, who claimed his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title on Sunday in Chicago, upset defending champion Maxime Cressy 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 to reach the second round of the Infosys Hall of Fame Open.
“I knew he was going to go out there and bomb serves," Michelsen said. "When I was down break point at 3-4 [in the final set] I got a little worried, but I came up with a good serve and just kind of found a way today."
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Michelsen arrived in Newport in the early hours of Monday morning after his breakthrough triumph the day before, when he won two matches to lift the trophy. The Chicago victory helped him climb 60 spots to a career-high No. 190 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
The teen's confidence showed against Cressy, one of the biggest servers in the sport. Michelsen withstood 23 aces from his opponent to triumph after two hours and 49 minutes.
"I had like an hour and a half of practice before I went on that court," Michelsen said. "But I went over to Europe before Chicago and played a bunch on grass, so I think that definitely helped me a bit today to get a little grass experience and I played grass last year as well, so it’s not like it’s completely foreign to me."
Michelsen was a lucky loser in Mallorca, where he played Christopher Eubanks in the first round of the ATP 250. Eubanks won that match 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-5 before winning the tournament and reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals.