Michelsen's mixed AO self-assessment: Barriers broken, but standards are high!

A disappointing exit will not stop Alex Michelsen drawing positives from his breakthrough campaign at the 2025 Australian Open.

The American surged into the fourth round at a major for the first time at Melbourne Park, where he defeated seeds Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov en route before falling to Alex de Minaur in straight sets on Monday night.

“It was a good tournament. Probably seven out of 10, just because I played pretty poorly tonight,” reflected Michelsen after De Minaur’s 6-0, 7-6(5), 6-3 win. “It is what it is. You can't win them all. I’m super happy because it's the second week of a Slam for the first time.”

Despite delivering a patchy display that ended in straight-sets defeat, Michelsen still had positives to draw from his fourth-round performance inside Rod Laver Arena. He could have folded after De Minaur reeled off the first eight games of the match, but Michelsen dug deep to rally from 2-4 in the second set and force a tie-break.

“I was super happy with the way I fought,” said the American. “I put myself in a position to almost win a set playing poorly against a Top 10 player. I was super happy with that. He came up with the goods in the breaker. Hit that forehand pass at 5/4 and the ace at 5-all. Credit to him there.

“Super happy with even getting it to a breaker there in that set, because it did not feel very good in the first hour of the match. It was really poor. So super happy to just compete and almost find a way in that second set.”

Michelsen identified the change in conditions from his previous matches as part of the reason he was slow to settle in his third Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with De Minaur.

“It was my first night match of the tournament,” said the American. “I played during the day when it was hot every single time, and then played tonight, a little colder. I felt like the ball was coming at me a lot slower. I wasn't getting my feet set properly. I think that was a big part of it.

“I was definitely a little nervous, but that wasn't really why I lost eight games in a row. I just couldn't find my feet. Obviously playing a guy like Alex, who is not going to give you anything for free, that's always in the back of your head when the balls fluff up quickly, you can't hit a winner.”

DEMON TURNS IT UP AT HOME 😈📣

He brings the force to move into the quarter-finals with a 6-0 7-6(5) 6-3 win over Michelsen… 🔥#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/Ir2ld9Q2xq

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 20, 2025

Despite Monday’s disappointment, Michelsen has risen to No. 36 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting him up for a new career high on Monday. The three-time ATP Tour finalist believes he has plenty to build on for the rest of 2025.

“I definitely have goals that I don't want to say in a press conference, but I definitely do have goals,” he said. “I don't put too much pressure on myself in terms of ranking. I'm 20 years old. 36th in the world. I know that that's very good, and I'm very happy with that right now.”