Preview: Friends Michelsen, Tien chase 'Victory Royale' in opening Jeddah SF
Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien might be inseparable off the court, but throw a competitive edge into the mix, like Fortnite battles and table tennis duels, and their friendship turns into a fiery rivalry. On court, even their head-to-head record is up for a funny debate. Tien insists he trails 1-2, but Michelsen includes doubles in the tally, confidently claiming a 4-1 advantage.
The stakes will skyrocket in Saturday's semi-finals at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where Michelsen and Tien are set to clash in their first professional meeting.
While Michelsen cruised to a perfect 3-0 record in Red Group, Tien survived a win-or-go-home test in his final Blue Group round-robin match to reach the last four. Michelsen was sitting in Tien's player's box for the entirety of that match, cheering his friend to victory.
When Tien ousted World No. 20 Arthur Fils -- the highest-ranked win of his career -- Michelsen turned around and pointed at the back of his sweatshirt, which read 'Victory Royale' -- a phrase used in the video game Fortnite when a player is the last one standing. It was a moment that perfectly described their friendship.
"We play Fortnite a lot together, so it's kind of a joke," Tien said. "Our agent got us tracksuits that say that on the back. We both got different colours."
[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 spot in the Jeddah championship match.
The second-seeded Michelsen banished any remaining demons from his 0-3 campaign last year in Jeddah by going 3-0 in group play this time around. The No. 41 in the PIF ATP Rankings has racked up a 34-29 record this season, a tally which includes championship-match runs 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 lefty can down Michelsen on Saturday, he will have upset the three highest-ranked players in the field after his group-stage triumphs against top seed Arthur Fils and third seed Jakub Mensik.
[6] Luca Van Assche (FRA) vs [8] Joao Fonseca (BRA)
Adding your name to the record books amidst elite company such as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz is a difficult task. Yet that is what 18-year-old Fonseca has done in Jeddah, becoming the second youngest semi-finalist in event history, only one month younger than 2019 champion Sinner.
In his first round-robin match, the Brazilian downed World No. 20 Arthur Fils for the highest-ranked win of his career. Fonseca, who went on to win Blue Group, became the youngest man to score a Top 20 win since Alcaraz defeated then No. 14 David Goffin in 2021 (Melbourne-1).
Sinner and Alcaraz are each former champions at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF and now Fonseca is two wins away from joining them in that right. Fonseca started the season at No. 730 in the PIF ATP Rankings and is currently No. 145 after a breakthrough year in which he reached two tour-level quarter-finals (Rio de Janeiro, Bucharest) and won his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title.
Van Assche comes hungry, aiming to improve upon last year's semi-final showing in Jeddah. The Frenchman, the fifth player to reach multiple semi-finals at the 20-and-under event, advanced in a win-or-go-home battle Friday against Nishesh Basavareddy. Van Assche, who finished second in Red Group, will again be faced with those same stakes in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head series meeting with Fonseca.
"I know him because he is an unbelievable talent," Van Assche told ATPTour.com when asked about facing Fonseca. "I practised with him four or five days ago here, also I think once before [elsewhere]. He's a tough opponent for sure. His level is very high, but I know I can beat him. It will be a very good match, a tough one, but you practise to play these matches, so it will be cool."
The 20-year-old has played some of his best tennis under pressure this season. Van Assche reached the third round of the Australian Open thanks to back-to-back five set wins. In Jeddah, he has earned a pair of four-set wins -- against Shang Juncheng and Basavareddy -- to continue his pursuit of becoming the first Frenchman to win the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.