Match Report
Michelsen needs 7 MPs to upset Musetti, faces buddy Tien next
Ruud also advances
July 31, 2025
Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour
Alex Michelsen defeats Lorenzo Musetti in three sets to record his second Top 10 win on Thursday in Toronto.
By Sam Jacot
Alex Michelsen earned his second Top 10 win on Thursday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, where he upset World No. 6 Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the fourth round at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.
The 20-year-old American lost the first set and was being outplayed by the dynamic Italian for the first 90 minutes of action on Centre Court. However, Michelsen began to land bigger blows off the forehand wing to trouble Musetti, who also coughed up 16 unforced errors in the third set.
“I am a big guy, I have got to play offensive tennis,” Michelsen said. “Especially today, you can’t give a guy like Lorenzo time to bully you around from the baseline, so I was trying to bully him around and I think in the second and third sets I did a really good job. Taking shots early. I was missing a couple but you can’t make them all and I was doing a really good job executing.”
A huge W 🦸
Alex Michelsen shows his tenacity and stuns No. 3 Musetti! @NBOtoronto | #NBO25 pic.twitter.com/dA95DhgZc9
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 31, 2025
Michelsen squandered two match points on the Musetti serve at 3-5 and then blew a 40/0 lead on his own serve, with the Italian saving the final match point in that run with a scorching backhand winner. However, the World No. 34 stayed composed, saving two break points before sealing victory on his seventh match point.
With his two-hour, 32-minute win, Michelsen improved his Top 10 record to 2-6, having defeated the then-No. 9 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Alex de Minaur in Los Cabos last season. Into the fourth round, the 26th seed Michelsen will next meet close friend Learner Tien.
“The first time in the fourth round feels really good. I have put a lot of hard work in and it is finally starting to pay off a little bit. I was wondering when it would happen and I guess it is starting to happen right now,” Michelsen said. “I returned really, really well today.”
Musetti has earned more Masters 1000 wins than anyone else on Tour this year (17), highlighted by his final run in Monte-Carlo. The third-seeded Italian was not at his best against Michelsen, though, and has now lost three of his past four matches following his semi-final showing at Roland Garros, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
Musetti is currently sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is aiming to make his debut on home soil at the Nitto ATP Finals in November. The 23-year-old will look to rediscover the winning formula in Cincinnati in August.
Tien ousted countryman Reilly Opelka 7-6(3), 6-3 to become the youngest American to reach the round of 16 at ATP Masters 1000 level since a 19-year-old Frances Tiafoe in 2017 (Cincinnati).
Tien, who is competing at a career-high No. 61 in the PIF ATP Rankings, targeted Opelka’s forehand to draw errors from the 2021 Toronto finalist. Opelka finished with 40 unforced errors, compared to the lefty’s 14.
Having already beat Opelka in Rome this year, Tien matched that feat to improve to 2-0 against the four-time tour-level titlist. Opelka dropped just one point behind his booming first serve, yet was unable to convert any of his four break chances. Tien and Michelsen both competed at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where the lefty beat Michelsen in the semi-finals. Michelsen won their lone meeting this year in Houston.
Eighth seed Casper Ruud avoided following Musetti out of Toronto by defeating Nuno Borges 7-5, 6-4. With his win, Ruud avenged his loss to the Portuguese star at this year’s Roland Garros and improved to 2-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Ruud has now advanced to the fourth round at the Canadian Masters 1000 event for the past five years, with his best showing a semi-final run in Montreal in 2022. The 26-year-old, 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, is chasing his second Masters 1000 crown of the year after winning Madrid. He will next meet Karen Khachanov.
Khachanov downed American qualifier Emilio Nava 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-1 to reach the fourth round at a Masters 1000 event for the second time this year. The 29-year-old, who advanced to the last 16 in Rome, is 10-1 against players outside the Top 20 this season.
Alex de Minaur advanced to the round of 16 via walkover. His opponent, countryman Christopher O’Connell, withdrew due to an abdominal injury. O’Connell upset 23rd seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a three-set victory Wednesday.
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