Luca Van Assche does not let himself be defeated and manages to break at the start of the fourth round. A short-lived advantage since the finalist in Winston-Salem and Newport this season immediately catches up. The decisive game of the fourth round starts with an opposite scenario compared to the previous one. Michelsen leads 5 points to 2 and has two serves to follow to close the match. Van Assche then returned to 5-5, but gave up the next two points and lost (1-4, 4-2, 4-3, 4-3).
MICHELSEN FIRST TO QUALIFY FOR THE SEMI-FINALS, VAN ASSCHE WILL PLAY FOR SURVIVAL AGAINST BASAVAREDDY
Despite more winning shots than his opponent (14 against 8), Luca Van Assche suffered the law of the American. The latter thus takes his revenge after losing in the tie-break of the fifth set last year against the Frenchman. Michelsen learned from his experience last year when he lost all three of his group matches.
With this success, Alex Michelsen (20 years old) is officially the first player qualified for the semi-finals of these Next Gen ATP Finals 2024. For their part, Luca Van Assche and Nishesh Basavareddy will compete for a place in the last four. With two defeats in two matches, Shang Juncheng is already eliminated since either Van Assche or Basavareddy will have two victories in three matches at the end of the group stage scheduled for this Friday.
IF YOU HAD TOLD ME A YEAR AGO THAT I WOULD BE IN THE SEMI-FINALS THIS YEAR, I WOULD HAVE BEEN A HAPPY MAN.
For his part, Michelsen is relishing his qualification: “If you had told me a year ago that I would be in the semi-finals this year, I would have been a happy man. I played really well today and I’m happy to advance to the semi-finals,” he assured on court a few moments after securing his place in the Final 4 of this tournament.
“I feel like I was born with a competitive mindset, I always hated losing. I try to get to work as seriously as possible and if I don’t, I know I won’t be able to sleep properly at night. I try to give my best in everything I do, and do the same on the court.”
Alex Michelsen will know his opponent in the semi-finals of the Next Gen ATP Finals no later than Friday. He will (probably) face the second of the blue group composed of Jakub Mensik, Arthur Fils, João Fonseca and Learner Tien.
