Alex Michelsen came back from one set down to upset Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6 6-1 6-2 in 1 hour and 48 minutes on his debut at the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo. Michelsen came through the qualifying round to earn a main draw spot in Tokyo.
Tsitsipas earned two breaks of serve in the first and fifth games to win the first set 4-1 lead. Michelsen pulled back one of two breaks back and saved a set point, but Tsitsipas served out the first set with hold at love.
Michelsen broke twice in the second and sixth games to win the second set 6-1. The US Next Gen player broke twice in the first and fifth games to close out the third set 6-2 on his first match point. Tsitsipas has lost of his last seven matches ou outdoor hard courts.
Michelsen has improved his win-loss to 25-24 this season. He finished runner-up at two ATP 250 tournaments in Newport and Winston Salem.
Tsitsipas remains 12th in the ATP Live Race to Turin, 570 points behind eighth placed Alex De Minaur.
Michelsen has moved past Chengdu champion Shang Juncheng into second place in the Race to Jeddah, as he bids for his second straight appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals.
Michelsen achieved his second top 20 win on the hard courts after beating Alex De Minaur in Los Cabos earlier this year. The US player set up a second round match against Christopher O’Connell, who beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4 7-6 (7-5).
Jordan Thompson beat third seed Casper Ruud 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 setting up a second round match against Kei Nishikori. Thompson won 84% of his first serve points. Thompson saved three break points in the second game of the first set. Both players went on serve en route to the tie-break. After a trade of mini-breaks, Thompson opened up a 5-2 lead with another mini-break. Ruud pulled back on serve to draw level to 5-5. Thompson closed out the first set with his third mini-break. Thompon broke twice in the second and fourth games and served out the win on his first match point.
Arthur Fils beat this year’s US Open finalist Taylor Fritz 4-6 6-3 6-3. Fritz earned his first break in the seventh game to win the first set 6-4. The second set went on serve until the eighth game when Fils broke serve to take a 5-3 lead. The French player served out on his fifth set point. Fils broke serve in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead and sealed the win on his first match point.
Tommy Paul did not face a break point in his 6-3 6-2 win over Andrea Arnaldi.
Yoshihito Nishioka beat Felix Auger Aliassime 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 7-6 (7-5) after 3 hours and 12 minutes. Auger Aliassime hit 12 aces to four for Nishioka and had the edge in total points (119 to 117 points) despite the defeat.
Nishioka saved four break points in the second game of the first set. Auger Aliassime earned a mini-break to take a 2-0 lead. Auger Aliassime won seven of the next ten points with two mini-breaks to close out the tie-break 7-5.
Auger Aliassime earned an early break in the first game of the second set. Nishioka broke back in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Auger Aliassime won four consecutive games with two breaks.
Nishioka saved two match points in the 12th game of the third set. Auger Aliassime earned a mini-break to take a 2-1 lead. Nishioka pulled back on serve to draw level to 2-2. Nishioka opened up a 5-3 lead with a second mini-break. Auger Aliassime broke back to draw level to 5-5 but Nishioka closed out the match with his third mini-break.
Nishioka stopped a four-match losing streak in his head-to-head series with Auger Aliassime. The Japanese player will face Holger Rune, who beat Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo 6-2 5-7 6-4.
