Indian Wells
Michelsen upsets former champ Fritz in Indian Wells
Hijikata stuns Bublik, Norrie beats De Minaur
March 10, 2026
ATP Tour
Alex Michelsen in action at the BNP Paribas Open.
By ATP Staff
Alex Michelsen earned the biggest win of his career Monday when he defeated No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 7-6(6) in the third round at the BNP Paribas Open.
“I played higher than my average level,” Michelsen said after defeating the 2022 champion. “That’s what you have to do to beat a guy like him.”
Michelsen produced an impressive performance on serve to improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fritz. The American crucially saved seven of the eight break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and won 73 per cent (40/55) of his first-serve points. Despite dropping serve while serving for the match, Michelsen held firm in the tie-break, where he saved a set point at 5/6 before sealing the upset in one hour and 39 minutes.
“I kind of went back to muscle memory at that point,” Michelsen said, “Also got a little lucky twice there.”
With his victory over Fritz, the Michelsen notched his first Top 10 win since defeating No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti en route to the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto in 2025. The 21-year-old will face two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev or Sebastian Baez in the fourth round.
In other action, Rinky Hijikata rallied to upset 10th seed Alexander Bublik 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 and advanced to the fourth round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. With the victory, the Australian qualifier earned his maiden Top 10 win. The 25-year-old will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie.
Watch Hijikata vs. Bublik highlights:
Norrie also earned an upset win on Monday when he beat sixth seed Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4. The Briton saved six of the seven break points he faced en route to a one-hour, 39-minute win against the Australian and improved to 3-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.