Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien meet at the opening of Jeddah SF | ATP Tour

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Preview: Friends Michelsen and Tien hunt “Victory Royale” at the opening of Jeddah SF

Van Assche will face Fonseca in another quarter-final duel

December 20, 2024

Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien may be inseparable off the field, but bring with them a competitive edge, like Fortnite battles and table tennis duels, and their friendship turns into a heated rivalry. On the pitch, even their direct comparison results in a funny debate. Tien insists he is 2-1 down, but Michelsen adds doubles to the tally and confidently secures a 4-1 lead.

The stakes will skyrocket in Saturday’s semifinals at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where Michelsen and Tien meet in their first professional meeting.

While Michelsen posted a perfect 3-0 record in the Red Group, Tien survived a win-or-win test in his final round-robin game in the Blue Group to reach the final four. Michelsen sat in Tien’s box throughout the game and cheered his friend on to victory.

As Tien ousted world No. 20 Arthur Fils – the biggest win of his career – Michelsen turned and pointed to the back of his sweatshirt, which read “Victory Royale” – a phrase used in the video game Fortnite when one player is the last one standing. It was a moment that perfectly described their friendship.

“We play a lot of Fortnite together, so it’s kind of a joke,” Tien said. “Our agent got us tracksuits that said that on the back. We both got different colors.”

(2) Alex Michelsen (USA) vs. (5) Learner Tien (USA)
Only one of Michelsen or Tien will walk away with a Victory Royale after they battle for a place in the Jeddah Championship game.

Second seed Michelsen banished any remaining demons from his 0-3 season in Jeddah last year by winning 3-0 in group play this time. The No. 41 PIF ATP Rankings has compiled a record of 34-29 this season, a record that also includes championship games in Newport and Winston-Salem.

Tien is also aiming to become the second Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion from the United States (after 2022 winner Brandon Nakashima). If the left-hander can defeat Michelsen on Saturday, he will have upset the top three ranked players in the field following his group stage victories over top seed Arthur Fils and third seed Jakub Mensik.

(6) Luca Van Assche (FRA) vs. (8) Joao Fonseca (BRA)
It is a difficult task to enter his name in the record books among an elite company like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. But that’s exactly what 18-year-old Fonseca did in Jeddah, becoming the second-youngest semi-finalist in the event’s history, just a month younger than 2019 champion Sinner.

In his first round-robin match, the Brazilian defeated world number 20 Arthur Fils to secure the biggest win of his career. Fonseca, who went on to win the Blue Group, became the youngest man to score a top 20 win since Alcaraz defeated then No. 14 David Goffin (Melbourne-1) in 2021.

Sinner and Alcaraz are both former champions of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, and now Fonseca is just two wins away from joining them. Fonseca started the season ranked No. 730 in the PIF ATP Rankings and is currently ranked No. 145, following a breakthrough year in which he reached two tour-level quarterfinals (Rio de Janeiro, Bucharest) and won his first ATP Challenger Tour title.

Van Assche is hungry and wants to improve on his performance in last year’s semi-final in Jeddah. The Frenchman, the fifth player to reach multiple semi-finals in the 20-and-under event, advanced in a win-or-win battle against Nishesh Basavareddy on Friday. Van Assche, who finished second in the Red Group, will face the same risks again in his first meeting in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fonseca.

“I know him because he is an incredible talent,” Van Assche told ATPTour.com when asked about the match against Fonseca. “I practiced with him here four or five days ago, I think before (elsewhere). He is definitely a tough opponent. His level is very high, but I know I can beat him. It will be a very good game, a tough game, but you practice playing these games so it will be cool.”

The 20-year-old has played his best tennis under pressure this season. Van Assche reached the third round of the Australian Open thanks to two consecutive wins in five sets. In Jeddah he picked up two wins in four sets – against Shang Juncheng and Basavareddy – to continue his quest to become the first Frenchman to win the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

Two-time semifinalist at the Next Gen ATP Finals