Alex Michelsen thanks Mom after upsetting Tsitsipas at Australian Open

His win over Tsitsipas was Michelsen's first against a player ranked in the top 20 at a Grand Slam

Melbourne: Alex Michelsen produced the biggest win so far of his fledgling career to upset 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the Australian Open, and he knew instinctively where credit was due.

The 20-year-old American overcame nerves on his serve in the fourth set before clinching a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win on Monday over Tsitsipas, a 26-year-old from Greece who has a career-high No 3 ranking and has contested two Grand Slam finals.

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Michelsen started playing tennis around age 3 and hit most days as a kid with his mother, Sondra, a schoolteacher who played college tennis.

“Yeah, I’m sure she’s watching right now,” Michelsen told the crowd on John Cain Arena, one of the three main show courts at Melbourne Park. “Yeah, we hit a million balls from the baseline every day. We’d go like 30 minutes up the middle, then we go across each way for like an hour and a half.”

“I mean we would just go out there and she would never miss a ball — she’s incredible. But no chance I’d be here without her, so thanks Mom. Love you.”

The No 42-ranked Michelsen reached the third round last year on his Australia debut before losing in the first rounds at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and in the second round at the US Open.

His win over Tsitsipas was Michelsen’s first against a player ranked in the top 20 at a Grand Slam. He played with freedom against Tsitsipas, taking big swipes with his service returns — including three in the ninth game of the fourth set that helped earn him a vital break.

He got a bit tense on serve, surrendering two hard-earned breaks in the fourth set, but stayed composed in the last game.