ATP Tour

Michelsen upsets former champ Fritz in Indian Wells

Alex Michelsen earned the biggest win of his career Monday when he defeated No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 7-6(6) in the third round at the BNP Paribas Open.

“I played higher than my average level,” Michelsen said after defeating the 2022 champion. "That's what you have to do to beat a guy like him."

Michelsen produced an impressive performance on serve to improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fritz. The American crucially saved seven of the eight break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and won 73 per cent (40/55) of his first-serve points. Despite dropping serve while serving for the match, Michelsen held firm in the tie-break, where he saved a set point at 5/6 before sealing the upset in one hour and 39 minutes.

"I kind of went back to muscle memory at that point," Michelsen said, "Also got a little lucky twice there."

With his victory over Fritz, the Michelsen notched his first Top 10 win since defeating No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti en route to the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto in 2025. The 21-year-old will face two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev or Sebastian Baez in the fourth round.

In other action, Rinky Hijikata rallied to upset 10th seed Alexander Bublik 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 and advanced to the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. With the victory, the Australian qualifier earned his maiden Top 10 win. The 25-year-old will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie.

Watch Hijikata vs. Bublik highlights:

Norrie also earned an upset win on Monday when he beat sixth seed Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4. The Briton saved six of the seven break points he faced en route to a one-hour, 39-minute win against the Australian and improved to 3-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.