Source : ABC NEWS
Alex de Minaur has been here before.
As the world number eight prepares for his fourth consecutive appearance in the round of 16 at the Australian Open, he knows what’s at stake.
A quarterfinal berth beckons, a stage of this tournament de Minaur is yet to reach.
But he’s gone that deep at the majors before, having advanced to the quarterfinals on four occasions during his career, including last year’s French and US Opens, in addition to Wimbledon.
On his way to the fourth round in Melbourne, de Minaur breezed through his opening two matches but he was given a scare in a gritty four-set win over Francisco Cerúndolo on Saturday.
As de Minaur chases a spot in the quarterfinals, standing in his way is a player he describes as “dangerous”.
De Minaur needed four sets to defeat Francisco Cerúndolo in the third round.
(AAP: Joel Carrett)
Alex Michelsen, an unseeded 20-year-old American, wasn’t on the radar of many when the Australian Open began but he has stormed into the fourth round.
He outclassed 11th seed and 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round, before ending the spirited run of Australian wildcard James McCabe in the second.
On Saturday, he again made his rivals sit up and take notice when he eliminated 19th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 to go further than he ever had before at a major.
Adding to the intrigue of his match-up with de Minaur is the fact he defeated the Australian in straight sets on hard court when they first met on tour in Los Cabos last February.
Months later, de Minaur squared the ledger when he thrashed Michelsen 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 on the red dirt of Roland-Garros in the French Open first round.
He’s wary of his younger opponent, knowing he will be brimming with self-belief after taking down two top-20 players in the past week.
“I played Michelsen twice,” de Minaur said at Melbourne Park over the weekend.
“One went his way, one went mine. Two different matches. One on clay, one on hard.
“He’s been playing really well. He’s a dangerous opponent with a lot of confidence now.
“He’s taken some big scalps this week, so I’m ready for a battle.
“He’s going to go out there with no fear. I’m going to do my best to make it difficult for him.”
‘Grinding every single day’
Michelsen’s Australian Open campaign isn’t a flash in the pan, as he has done the hard yards to reach to this point.
Even last year, he was still contesting second-tier Challenger tournaments in Italy, Portugal and Great Britain.
Alex Michelsen has only dropped one set on his way to the round of 16. (Getty Images: Hannah Peters)
Ranked 42 on the ATP standings, Michelsen feels his progression to the second week in Melbourne is just reward for his effort both on and off the court.
“I feel like I’ve put in so much work the last three, four years,” he said.
“I’ve been grinding every single day.”
There will be no respite for the winner of Monday night’s match.
They will meet either world number one and defending champion Jannik Sinner or 13th seed Holger Rune in the quarterfinals.
