Tennis

Australian Open 2025: American Alex Michelsen Upsets Stefanos Tsitsipas in 1st Round

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By
wendioliveros
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wendioliveros Sports Editor

Wendi Oliveros is a diehard tennis fan that is known to set her clock at ridiculous hours to watch live action especially during the Australian Open. She is known for indulging in strawberries and cream during Wimbledon and has watched the US Open live several times.

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Sports Editor

Published12 Jan 2025

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Alex Michelsen

Upsets are always a fascinating part of Grand Slam tennis, and the Australian Open is no exception.

Alex Michelsen registered the first upset of the 2025 Australian Open with a four-set 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Greek superstar Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas, the 2023 Australian Open finalist and former World No. 3 player, lost to Michelsen once last year at the Tokyo Open. Given the Greek star’s popularity in Australia, he has long regarded the Australian Open as his home Grand Slam.

Who Is Alex Michelsen?

6’4″ Michelsen, 20, is one of a promising group of young Americans slowly and steadily rising in the ATP rankings.  The native Californian turned pro in 2023. The Australian Open is where he has played his best Grand Slam tennis with a third-round finish in 2024.  He is currently ranked 42nd in the world.

For Tsitsipas it is the second straight Grand Slam (2024 US Open) where he was knocked out in the first round.  He was once regarded as one of the best players in the world to never win a Grand Slam. This title has since been passed on to German player Alexander Zverev.  The 26-year-old has slipped out of the Top 10.

In 2024, Tsitsipas took a brave and difficult stand, breaking away from his father’s coaching oversight. His father Apostolos Tsitsipas had been his coach since 2001, when he was three years old.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’s girlfriend, Spanish tennis player Paula Badosa, the 2024 WTA Comeback Player of the Year, won her first-round match on Sunday against Chinese player Xinyu Wang.