Musetti against Shelton, Khachanov against Michelsen

Young American Alex Michelsen will face Russian Karen Khachanov for a place in the round of 16 of the Australian Open. His American compatriot Ben Shelton will also be in action on Saturday against the tricky Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

(19) Karen Khachanov vs. Alex Michelsen

Alex Michelsen, a 20-year-old upstart from the USA, is playing better than his ranking at No. 42 suggests. He has made a good start to the season, picking up the biggest win of his career this week in the first round against world No. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas. Michelsen is facing the big ATP breakthrough in 2025.

Karen Khachanov has played well in Melbourne in the past, but he faded a bit last year and he hasn’t been particularly impressive so far in 2025 either. The Russian failed to win a match at his Australian Open preparation event in Hong Kong before defeating Adrian Mannarino and Gabriel Diallo to book his place in the third round at Melbourne Park. This is another potential early-round upset, although it won’t be as shocking as Daniil Medvedev’s second-round exit to American teenager Learner Tien. Look forward to a long battle with Michelsen displacing the favorite.

Cheryl Pick: Michelsen in 4th

Ricky selection: Michelsen in 4th

(16) Lorenzo Musetti vs. (21) Ben Shelton

Both Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Musetti have been working hard at the Australian Open this week. Shelton was pushed by compatriot Brandon Nakashima in the first round and lost a set to Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round. The former University of Florida star posted impressive service statistics in terms of aces won and points won against Carreno Busta, but his serve rate was 61 percent; He has to do better against Musetti.

Musetti has beaten Shelton in both previous meetings, but as usual for the American, the games were close. Because the No. 21 seed has one of the hardest serves in all of tennis, results are often decided by tiebreakers. Musetti only won one match at his tuning event in Hong Kong; The Italian wasn’t necessarily at his best in 2025. This is a good opportunity for Shelton to get his first win over the Moose.

Cheryl Pick: Shelton in 5

Ricky selection: Musetti in 5