“He knew I was going after him”: American rising star reveals Jannik Sinner’s advice

American rising star Alex Michelsen wrapped up an impressive season and reflected on his conversations with Jannik Sinner during the Cincinnati Open, where the Italian offered him advice. The 20-year-old climbed from World No. 97 to a career-best year-end ranking of No. 41 this season.

In Cincinnati, Michelsen progressed through qualifying and reached the second round, where he faced none other than the World No. 1. Despite a strong performance, he fell 4-6, 5-7, paving the way for Sinner to ultimately win the title.

A few weeks later, Michelsen had a chance for revenge at the US Open, again meeting Sinner in the second round. This time, Sinner dominated, winning 6-4, 6-0, 6-2, in the route to his second Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows.

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Michelsen shares Sinner’s encouragement

In a recent interview with the ATP, Michelsen opened up about his encounters with Sinner and their conversations during the American swing. “I have played Sinner twice now. I went close to him in Cincy, and at the US Open, he absolutely waxed me,” the American said.

“But I remember we talked a lot in Cincinnati because obviously, he won that tournament. And I was actually there for doubles and made the final,” he added. “So I was seeing him every day in the locker room. And we chatted. He actually told me I was saying sorry too much because I tried to keg him. He knew I was going after him. And he’s like, ‘It’s a good play, don’t say sorry.’

“He is actually a super nice guy. Unfortunately, I am 0-2 against him. But I guess that’s okay because he is the number one player in the world.”

Reflecting on his remarkable season, Michelsen discussed reaching two finals but falling short of claiming his maiden ATP title. In July, he made his second consecutive Newport final, losing to Marcos Giron in a three-set battle. A month later, he was runner-up in Winston-Salem, falling to Lorenzo Sonego 0-6, 3-6.

“The tour is absolutely brutal. You lose every week. I haven’t won a tournament this year. I had a match point in the Newport final, and I got aced on the match point. It was a good week,” Michelsen said.

“I feel like last year I was winning a lot because I went from 600 to 97 in the world. I won a lot of matches in Futures and Challengers. Even though you are not winning every week, you are still winning a ton of matches.”

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“And this year, I think I might be 50/50. I might have the same number of wins and losses. It is definitely tough mentally, experiencing all this for the first time. And I think becoming a good loser, as lame as that sounds, you have got to become a good loser just because it is going to happen all the time,” the American No. 7 concluded.