AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 18, 2025

Alex Michelsen

Press Conference

A. MICHELSEN/K. Khachanov

6-3, 7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. One of the great stories about this run is that you're doing it together with Learner, as well. Can you talk about how much you've been talking in person here or texting?

ALEX MICHELSEN: Yeah, a lot of both. We did pretty much every single day of off-season together. Really good to see the hard work is paying off. We put in a lot of hard yards this off-season.

I know he's on court right now. I don't know what the score is, but I know he is on court right now. I stayed up pretty late watching his match against Medvedev the other night. He is paying unbelievable.

Maybe I get like 1% credit for that because I hit with him every day. Yeah, we're very, very good friends. Definitely my best friend on tour.

Q. How long did that you watch that match?

ALEX MICHELSEN: I can't disclose that. Sorry. I can't disclose how late I was up. Sorry. Can't do that (smiling).

Q. How did the two of you first meet? How long have you known each other?

ALEX MICHELSEN: I mean, we must have first met when we were like 9 or 10 because we were playing at the same tournaments in So Cal. He was always better than everyone else. I remember my whole friend group, we were like, Oh, my God, it's Learner. He was always way better playing. He was 10, playing like 14 and 16 unders and doing just fine.

Then we started training together in 2021. Yeah, I would say, '21. So probably about four years we've been pretty good friends.

Q. I know it's not easy out there, but you're making things look pretty easy. Are you surprised at how you've been very businesslike and rolling and there's been sort of not too much drama, not too much crazy moments that tennis has, even though you've played some pretty high seeds?

ALEX MICHELSEN: Yeah, I mean, I've been playing super well. I think my biggest asset this week has been my serve. Been getting a lot of free points off serve.

I think I got broken -- actually, I got broken a lot. Stef broke me like four times. I haven't been getting broken as much, especially in the last two matches. Only got broken only once today. In three-out-of-five, that's very good for me.

I've played the pressure points pretty well. Tiebreak, 7-5, then I hit two winners from 5-All. I don't know where it came from. It just kind of happened.

But yeah, definitely doesn't feel that easy. But it's easy to look at the score and be like, Oh, he's cruising. But it doesn't feel like that during the match. These guys are always applying pressure, giving energy to try to knock you off your game, so yeah.

Q. On the two winners you just mentioned, did you tell yourself before those points, Don't be afraid, don't be timid, go for it?

ALEX MICHELSEN: No, I don't think I was. I think I was pretty quiet in the mind before those points. I knew I was just going to go out there and play my game. I hit my best shot, backhand line, to win the set.

I wasn't looking to hit a winner before the point started. It presented itself, and I hit it.

Q. You're still relatively new in your career. Does this feel ahead of schedule for you from maybe what you might have expected to be doing at this point?

ALEX MICHELSEN: I mean, yes and no just because a couple years ago, never thought I'd be a pro. But at the same time I feel like I've put in so much work the last three, four years. I've been grinding every single day.

Yeah, yes and no. I mean, obviously I'm super, super happy with the progress I've made. At the same time I know how hard I've worked to go ahead here.

Q. Why did you not think you would be a pro?

ALEX MICHELSEN: Just not how I was raised, not how I looked at tennis until I was maybe 17. My whole childhood, I'd always watch tennis and think, Oh, that's sick, these guys are playing in the best stadiums around the world.

I never really considered that an option for that to be me.

Q. What made that change for you?

ALEX MICHELSEN: I started doing really well like when COVID hit. I started doing really well. I was 15, 16, playing some of my college tournaments in San Diego. I was competing really well against them.

Coach said that I should start playing the ITF juniors. I started doing good in that. Then finished the juniors. I was like 25 maybe when I finished juniors. Okay, what else is there to play besides futures? So I started playing futures. I started playing challengers after that. Then just kind of kept progressing, yeah.

Q. First win against a top-10 player I think was against Alex de Minaur, Los Cabos last year. What do you remember coming into that match and how that match went for you?

ALEX MICHELSEN: So I remember in Dallas and Doha I lost to Frances and Tommy. They were both high seeds. Frances snipped me. Then I almost got Tommy. I lost 7-6 in the third.

I was like, okay, play another big seed. Just go out there and play as best you can, see what happens. I went out there and didn't miss a ball for an hour and a half or however long that match went. I couldn't miss.

I was playing way above my level at the time. My level was here, and I was playing way up there. It's always nice when that happens. It's pretty rare. That's what happened last time, just I couldn't miss a ball, I feel like.

Q. Your coach Robby Ginepri, he's been to the semifinals of a major. Have you ever talked to him about it?

ALEX MICHELSEN: Of course, of course, yeah. I mean, not super extensively, but we've talked about that run. He's given me some good mental tips to try and maybe replicate that.

But yeah, we've talked about it. I mean, he was a very good player. Got to 15 in the world, I think. Yeah, we've talked about it a good bit.

Q. What sort of tips?

ALEX MICHELSEN: I'd like to keep those private, yeah. Thank you.

Q. After the first round, Stefanos told us you were incredibly powerful and that most of the guys under 20 like you were very powerful. Is it something you are realizing, that you just come on the big scene at the moment? Your power and speed impresses even the best players in the world. They are thinking, What's happening with these guys?

ALEX MICHELSEN: Yeah, I mean, you look at Mensik and Fonseca and Learner, they can all hit the absolute crap out of the ball.

So I feel like they're all naturally better ball strikers than I am, but we're all playing pretty big. I feel like that's what you have to do to beat the big guys. You have to have a big game nowadays. The game is very quick.

I heard Stef say he thought the game got quicker, which I don't really know because I haven't been on tour for that long, but I believe him just because everyone is hitting huge now, it feels like.

Yeah, I mean, we're all trying to take it to these guys, I feel like. Got to hit hard to do that.

Q. Who was your favorite tennis player growing up?

ALEX MICHELSEN: Monfils. Yeah, the guy's pure athlete. All the feel and circus shots. I mean, he was incredible. I still love watching him. I always love watching him. For sure my favorite guy.