Match Report
Michelsen breaks clay-court drought with Houston win
Basavareddy sets Tien clash; Nakashima, Hijikata, Etcheverry advance
April 01, 2026
Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Alex Michelsen in action on Tuesday in Houston.
By ATP Staff
Alex Michelsen ended a year-long wait for a tour-level clay-court victory on Tuesday when he defeated Coleman Wong 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.
The 21-year-old hadn’t won on the surface since last year’s Houston event, where he became the youngest American quarter-finalist at the tournament since Taylor Fritz in 2018. He had lost five consecutive tour-level matches on the surface since, making this first-round victory a positive start to his 2026 clay season.
“It was a really tough match,” Michelsen said. “It’s a first match on clay for everybody, so just kind of getting the feet wet a little bit. I got a little lucky to win the first set and I felt pretty good in the second.”
In a closely contested first set, both players saved multiple break points before Michelsen made the breakthrough in the 10th game, capitalising on a drop in Wong’s level to clinch the opener. The American did not look back from there and sealed the win in one hour and 25 minutes. The seventh seed finished having won 77 per cent (23/30) of his first-serve points and saved all three break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Michelsen has found his best level in recent weeks, reaching the fourth round at ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. The 21-year-old will aim to build on that form and keep the momentum going in Houston, where he next takes on Alexei Popyrin. Popyrin earned a hard-fought 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win against Patrick Kypson.
In other first-round action Tuesday, home favourite Nishesh Basavareddy defeated qualifier Liam Draxl 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to set an all-American second-round clash with third seed Learner Tien. Tien leads 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head Series, having defeated Basavareddy in their most recent meeting in the semi-finals at the Next Gen ATP Finals in December.
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Brandon Nakashima was also among the Americans who advanced to the second round at the ATP 250 clay-court event on Tuesday. The fifth seed defeated countryman Martin Damm 7-6(0), 6-2 in one hour and 31-minutes. Australian Rinky Hijikata cruised past home hope Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-2 and will next face 2023 champion Frances Tiafoe.
Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry recovered from a slow start to overcome fellow Argentine Federico Agustin Gomez 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. With his one-hour, 57-minute victory, Etcheverry improved to 9-1 on clay this season, highlighted by a first tour-level title in Rio de Janeiro and a semi-final showing at the ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires. The sixth seed will play Australian qualifier Alex Bolt in the second round.