As things currently stand, there are 10 American men (the most of any country) in the ATP Top 50. Taylor Fritz is now the first American man to be ranked in the top-5 since Andy Roddick did it in September 2009. In almost every way, things are looking up for American men’s tennis. However, there was a time when things perhaps weren’t looking so great at the top of the game. Even then, our team at Cracked Racquets sang the praises of the next-gen cohort of players like Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Tommy Paul knowing that the future remained bright. 

Now that future has arrived and as those players and others continue to excel, there’s a brand new crop of young players aiming to compete for the biggest titles in the world. By now, you may have already heard of the likes of Ben Shelton and Sebastian Korda but we’re getting back to our roots here as we highlight the junior players you may not be as familiar with we think can continue to be successful at the highest levels.

Each article in this series will feature one American player aged 21 or younger in order to provide a detailed breakdown of their games and results up until this point. Let’s start things off with Alex Michelsen!

Alex Michelsen

Early Success

Born on August 25th, 2004, 18-year-old Alex Michelsen boasts an impressive resume for someone his age. While just having good results is not the ultimate factor when it comes to projecting the future success of a young player, the California native has certainly done enough to garner some serious attention. After winning the Junior Wimbledon doubles title with Sebastian Gorzny, Michelsen has already won 2 pro circuit titles in his short time on tour. His first title came at a $15K tournament in East Lansing Michigan. Many players often struggle to continue winning at a consistent rate after initial success but he ended up winning one more $15K event in Edmond, Oklahoma just two months later. 

Michelsen now sits at a career-high ATP ranking of 306 after stringing together some deep runs at multiple challenger events. Earlier this year at the Cleveland Challenger, he notched a win against fellow American and former top 10 player Jack Sock before falling to two-time Kalamazoo 18’s champ Zachary Svajda. Michelsen then backed up his win over Sock later that month at the Challenger event in Rome, Georgia where he made it all the way to the final before losing to the top seed, Jordan Thompson. On the way to his runner-up finish in Rome, Michelsen took down the #7 seed Dominik Koepfer as well as #8 seed Hong Seon-chan. As his fine form continued, he managed to reach the semifinal at the Waco Challenger as well, showing the ability to sustain his level both physically and mentally on the professional tour.

Game Style & Weapons

Clearly, Michelsen’s results are up to par but his game passes the eye test as well. If I had to sum up his game in just one word, it would be polished. With no real weaknesses and plenty of weapons at his disposal, he has one of the more complete games you’d see at his level. Officially listed at 6’4″ and 175lbs, Michelsen will be a handful to deal with when he fills out physically. At that size and with the way he moves, he’ll be able to obtain the benefits of his range and height on his serve and court coverage without compromising too much movement. That being said, Michelsen is already a very competent server, especially on the first serve. He certainly gets enough pace on it but he’s also very comfortable hitting any spot, whether it be hitting the flat serve out wide on the ad side or down the middle on the deuce side as well as the slider out wide on the deuce side. Did I mention he can also trap his opponents with a body serve? Michelsen has every serve in the book and he fully employs each one incredibly well depending on the situation. 

Off the ground, his backhand is a top-tier weapon. He’s comfortable taking it up the line as well as trading cross-court with it and absorbs pace exceptionally well to generate consistent depth from the baseline. The forehand is solid and continues to improve but there is certainly some room for growth on that wing. There are some technical deficiencies on the backswing where he winds up a little too much and has a bit of a hitch when he takes his racket back. When he’s stepping forward and hitting through the shot with confidence, he’s able to use the spin nicely to get solid depth and power. However, there are times when he can get a bit tentative on that side, and go to the slice a little too much. If a player is able to hit it hard and fast to that side to exploit the weakness, it can tend to break down.

The most natural aspects of Michelsen’s game are his hand skills and willingness to move forward, especially in his service games. Michelsen always knows exactly when to move forward and presses ahead with quick recognition that displays a feel for the game far beyond his years. With the ability to utilize his serve and wingspan, he’ll be a nightmare up at the net as he’s already a very comfortable volleyer and has some of the best hands you see from an 18-year-old in today’s game. 

Mental Toughness & Grit

With all these physical tools, what often gets lost in the fold is how tough Michelsen is mentally. What may be one of the biggest contributing factors to his success on the court is his ability to go into lockdown mode when the moment is big. In the decisive moments, he simply refuses to miss. His competitiveness and ability to think clearly in big moments are tools that translate across all levels of the sport. 

Michelsen, a University of Georgia signee, is expected to make his college tennis debut next season. While there are always those who say that going to college after experiencing success on the pro circuit can be detrimental, I feel that college could be a positive experience for Michelsen. Being in the Georgia weight room where he can get stronger and practice against high-quality players (especially if Ethan Quinn’s around) could be beneficial for his game. Furthermore, being allowed to mature emotionally and being surrounded by peers is a vastly underrated aspect of the college game that would help make adjusting to tour life easier.

Any U.S. tennis fans out there better watch out for Alex Michelsen!