Michelsen makes U.S. history with Indian Wells debut win

Peter Staples/ATP Tour

In a dominant debut at the ATP Masters 1000 level, #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen quickly proved he belonged on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open.

With a 6-2, 6-3 win against Jaume Munar, the 19-year-old became the youngest player from the United States to win a Masters 1000 match since Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe both won at the same age in Miami in 2017.

Dream desert debut 🌴

Alex Michelsen records his first win at @BNPPARIBASOPEN, d. Munar 6-2 6-3.#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/7ufbk6Y7nV

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 8, 2024

The World No. 80 owned the highest PIF ATP Ranking of the seven Americans on the Day 2 schedule, and he has now moved eight places higher to No. 72 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings — a mark that would represent a career high.

The win also improved him to 6-1 in opening-round, tour-level matches on home soil, including wins against Tennys Sandgren in Delray Beach and Thanasi Kokkinakis in Dallas this season. His record now stands at 7-6 on the year, with a Los Cabos quarter-final run his best result.

Michelsen saved the only two break points he faced against Spain's Munar, who was seeking his 10th ATP Masters 1000 victory. The American hit four aces and converted on three of his six break chances, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He will next meet countryman and 17th seed Tommy Paul in the second roud.

Photo by Peter Staples/ATP Tour

#NextGen ATP Frenchman Arthur Fils also advanced with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win against Nuno Borges. Fils improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head against the Portuguese by backing up a straight-sets win in Auckland earlier this season. 

The 19-year-old progressed to the semi-finals at the Auckland ATP 250 for his best result of the young season. He will next meet 23rd seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his bid to extend is Indian Wells run.

Shang Juncheng and Jakub Mensik also fuelled the youth movement in the desert with Thursday wins. Shang beat Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3, setting up a meeting with 20th seed Alexander Bublik, while Mensik downed Hong Seongchan 6-3, 6-4 to lock in a showdown with 16th seed Ben Shelton.