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Rising Tennis Star Michelsen: “Pickleball isn’t a sport”
· Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
Alex Michelsen has had a dream year. One year ago he came to Newport ranked 250, 18 years old and planning on attending University of Georgia in a few months. Well those plans went awry, because Michelsen won four matches – over Cressy and Isner in the semi – to reach the finals where he lost to Adrian Mannarino.
That surge momentum continued for Michelsen last summer, so he decided to bypass college and continue to compete on the ATP World Tour. Michelsen continued to rise, all the way up to 55 in the world. This week in Newport he’s reached the final again, beating Cressy (again), Bolt, Kovacevic and Opelka.
Andrew Eichenholtz of the ATP web site asked Michelsen after the Kovacevic match, In his debut season on the ATP World Tour, what has been the most fun? Michelsen’s answer was a surprise and also included a playful jab at the so-called “fastest growing sport in America.”
“I’m going to say when I got back from Wimby, because I hadn’t seen my friends in like, three, four months, and everyone was home for summer,” Michelsen said. “I played a lot of pickleball – pickleball isn’t a sport [smiles] – went to the beach. It was a blast. I would say that in the last year for sure that’s the most fun I’ve had.”
Michelsen is aiming to have more fun tomorrow by capturing his first ATP title, the Infosys Hall of Fame Open 250 vs Marcos Giron. And to continue his steady, unstoppable rise to the elite pantheon of the ATP top ten.
adidas · Alex Michelsen · Infosys Hall of Fame Championships
