Hi, Mom! 20-year-old Californian Alex Michelsen beats a second top-20 seed at the Australian Open

Melbourne, Jan 18 (AP) Alex Michelson joked that he was too busy at the Australian Open on Saturday morning to have a lengthy phone conversation with his mother back home in California. His excuse was pretty good, actually: The 20-year-old Michelsen was on court for a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over No. 19 seed Karen Khachanov.

That victory put Michelsen in the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time — and was his second win in less than a week over an opponent ranked in the top 20. He eliminated No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets in the opening round.

“Mom, hi! I’m sorry I only called you for a minute this morning. I had things to do,” the 42nd-ranked Michelsen said, looking into a TV camera during his post-match interview at John Cain Arena. “I love you. I miss you. I hope everything’s good at home.”

He’ll now face No. 8 Alex de Minaur of Australia for a berth in the quarterfinals. De Minaur beat No. 31 Francisco Cerúndolo 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-3 later Saturday.

Michelsen is the second-youngest man from the United States since Andy Roddick in 2003 to get this far at the Australian Open — two years ago, Ben Shelton was about 1 1/2 months younger than Michelsen is now.

Michelsen is part of a crop of Americans making moves in the brackets at Melbourne Park. Six U.S. men and five women from the country reached the third round — both tournament highs.

And Michelsen has done it by defeating two players with some real success at the hard-court event in the past: Tsitsipas was the runner-up in Australia in 2023; Khachanov lost to him in the semifinals that year.

Michelsen, who is coached by 2005 U.S. Open semifinalist Robby Ginepri, converted all four break points he earned against the big-serving Khachanov and compiled an impressive 39 winners to 27 unforced errors.

“I played unbelievable most of that match. I don’t know what’s going on. … I’ve never hit my forehand that well,” Michelsen said. “Played some of my best tennis at the end.”