Michelsen Upsets Nakashima at US Open

Alex Michelsen beat No. 16 Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the US Open third round for the first time, per the Associated Press. Nakashima walked in as the man with the most hard-court wins on tour this year. He walked out of an all-American Round 2 without ever grabbing the match.

That is a draw that just opened twice. Novak Djokovic vacated this quarter on Sunday night. Nakashima was the form player left to take it. Michelsen, who turned 22 last week and had never been past the second round in New York, took the slot instead.

How Michelsen took the serve

CBS Sports counted four breaks for Michelsen on seven chances, while Nakashima converted only one of three break points. Tennis Majors had Nakashima with 23 hard-court wins this season, plus finals in Brisbane and Montreal and a Cincinnati Masters semifinal, and still described a match he never got into. The 16th seed is ranked No. 17. Michelsen is ranked No. 46. Straight sets in New York do not care.

Michelsen served his way through the afternoon and kept Nakashima chasing. When a player has been the hard-court king of the summer swing, Round 2 against a compatriot is supposed to be a hold-and-steal night. Michelsen stole the return games instead and left Nakashima looking for answers that never showed up after the first set slipped 6-3.

The quarter Djokovic left behind

Djokovic's first-round loss to Mariano Navone dumped a section of the draw that still has names, just not the names anyone circled in August. Michelsen next plays Spaniard Daniel Merida, who beat No. 23 Andrey Rublev 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4, per Tennis Majors. One of the players left in that quarter will play a US Open quarterfinal. Rublev and Matteo Berrettini have been there before. Michelsen had never been to week two here until Wednesday. Tennis Majors noted that Arthur Fils, the Cincinnati champion, is already out too, so the men who spent August looking like New York threats keep leaving early. Michelsen is the one who stayed, and the third round is now a real live American story instead of a Nakashima coronation.

For the Sunday night shock that opened this path, see Djokovic falling to Navone. Another American still rolling is Ben Shelton through Hubert Hurkacz. Michelsen's version is the upset: three sets, four breaks, first third round, and a quarter that suddenly has his name on it.