With the momentum shifted, there was a sense the match could easily be headed to a fifth set. This was familiar ground for Tsitsipas, but Michelsen has little experience to draw from. He did, however, have a win over Tsitsipas in there only previous meeting—last year in Tokyo—which gave him confidence in his game plan.
“I’ve lost a lot of matches not because I was playing badly, but because I was bad mentally,” says Michelsen. “I’d miss one or two shots and I’d lose my crap for a little while and boom the match is over like that because these guys are not going to give you anything out here. You have to mentally be on your game at all times. Last year I probably lost 10 matches that I should’ve won straight because of the brain.”
The tightening of the scoreline caused some nervy play in the fourth set. There were moments of brilliant shot-making from both players, matched by their share of sloppy mistakes. Twice Michelsen nosed in front with breaks of serve, only to immediately hand them right back with poor service games. He opened the door once more with a third break to go up 5-4, only this time he walked through and held for a 6-4 set and match victory.
“I didn’t take the most direct path, that’s for sure,” says Michelsen. “Shouldn’t have got broken twice in the fourth. My serve let me down, started double faulting way too much. But I was also returning really really well. I feel like I was winning most of the baseline rallies when I was inside the baseline controlling the points.”
