The ‘absurd’ way Alex Michelsen’s journey has turned out | ATP Tour

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The ‘absurd’ way Alex Michelsen’s journey has turned out

American reflects on start of his second full season on Tour

January 17, 2025

It is easy to forget that Alex Michelsen is only 20 years old.

The energetic American has already played in two editions of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, made three ATP Tour finals, is into the Top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings and is about to compete in the third round of the Australian Open for the second consecutive year.

But in an alternative universe, Michelsen could be sitting in class at the University of Georgia for his sophomore year of college. This time two years ago he had just cracked the Top 600 in the PIF ATP Rankings and was an 18-year-old fully prepared to go to school.

“This is a much better life than doing that,” Michelsen told ATPTour.com with a smile on his face, calling the thought of how his life has panned out “absurd”.

“College tennis did sound fun and it is fun. It looks awesome. But I’ve just never been a big school guy, so I’m super happy… I’m not the most social guy, either. I just like to play tennis and chill out, do my thing. I think the way I’m living my life is something I never considered growing up. And I’m still crazy happy with everything and how it’s all going.”

Michelsen’s older brother, Jake, graduated from Biola University in May and got a job at home in Irvine, 20 minutes from where the family lives. Jake is working for one of their father’s friends in a finance job, “doing great”. Could that have been Alex’s path?

“Maybe, yes, who knows? It’s not the world we’re living in. But, yes, I probably would have gone in a similar direction,” Michelsen said. “My dad is a lawyer, and he’s got a lot of friends… Probably could have hooked me up with a job after college. It’s not crazy to think that could have been my path.”

Watch Michelsen’s Journey To Jeddah:

Michelsen did not have a dream job outside of tennis. “If I could have been a professional video game player, that would have been sick. I played a lot of video games during Covid. That would have been so sick,” he said, cracking a laugh. “But that would have never happened because I’m just not that good.”

The Californian played a lot of Fortnite, including with close friend Learner Tien, who is also into the third round of the Australian Open. “I got pretty good at one point. I was pretty good,” Michelsen said. “Learner Tien is incredible at Fortnite. He won’t say it, but he’s incredible.”

Now they are both competing on the world’s biggest stage. Michelsen advanced past James McCabe on Thursday afternoon and planned to watch Tien face former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev from the comfort of his hotel room.

“He doesn’t need me. He’ll do just fine,” said Michelsen. That proved prophetic, as Tien stunned Medvedev in a fifth-set tie-break at 2:55 a.m. Friday morning.

While both Californians are on the rise, Michelsen has a bit more experience, with 2024 being his first full year of competition on the ATP Tour.

“Physically, I’ve improved a lot of things, like my serve, my forehand, especially. But I feel like mentally, I’ve made the biggest change in the last year than physically,” Michelsen said. “I feel like my game has not really changed in terms of the way I play, but mentally, just the way I approach matches, and the way I am in matches.”

Some of those improvements have been on the mental side of the sport. There have been the simple things, like not throwing his racquet as much or “chirping” at his box as often as he once did.

“I like the feeling of being composed on the court. And it’s not something I had growing up. So, I’m super glad I figured it out at some point,” said Michelsen, who began working with former World No. 15 Robby Ginepri alongside Jay Leavitt around last year’s US Open. “He’s definitely helped because he’s been in the situations. He’s been in very stressed situations on the court…. He’s given me some great advice. That has helped a tonne. But I’ve also known for a while that I needed to clean it up, and he just stepped in and helped out a lot.”

Life has changed off the court, too. Michelsen is in Melbourne with his girlfriend, Caroline, who was also in Auckland.

“We’ve been spending a lot of quality time together because I didn’t see her for about six weeks before this. So, I’ve been spending a lot of time with her. We’ll just chill out, watch the matches,” Michelsen said. “It’s a lot more fun to have company in the room. I like being alone, but it’s so much better to have her company with me.

“Support is big. At first, I played a lot of Challengers. I went to a lot of places by myself. I had my first ATP final at 18. I was by myself. But having the support is crucial. I realise when you’re just going week to week, different city, you need people. You need good people there to support you.”

Michelsen “loves the courts” in Melbourne and “the city is sick” (when the bugs are not bothering him). The 20-year-old will help the improvements he has made and the good vibes will lead to an even deeper run in the season’s first major. Next up is a third-round showdown with 19th seed Karen Khachanov.

“I had to get good at trying to find the balance of being happy after a win versus, ‘You’ve got to go and play in a couple days again’,” Michelsen said. “I can enjoy tonight. I don’t have anything tomorrow to focus on besides practice. Then I’ll probably start getting locked in on Saturday morning when I’ve got to play again.”