Alex Michelsen claims he had request rejected by the Australian Open before his match with Alex de Minaur

Alex Michelsen has been knocked out of the Australian Open, after his best Grand Slam run to date was ended by Alex de Minaur.

Michelsen and Learner Tien both made breakthroughs at the Australian Open this year, reaching the last-16 of a major tournament for the first time.

During his run at the Australian Open this year, Michelsen beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round to make an opening in his section of the draw.

The 20-year-old followed this up with wins over James McCabe and Karen Khachanov, with Michelsen being praised by Ben Shelton for his efforts.

However, playing De Minaur appeared to be one step too far for Michelsen in Melbourne.

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Alex Michelsen had request rejected by the Australian Open

De Minaur beat Michelsen, 6-0 7-6(5) 6-3, in the second night session match on Rod Laver Arena that got underway at 8:40pm in Melbourne.

The American won only 13 points in the first set, and was asked in his press conference about whether nerves affected him.

However, it appears that Michelsen was more bothered by the change in conditions after requesting a day session match against the Australian number one.

“No, not really. It was my first night match of the tournament,” said Michelsen. “I played during the day when it was hot every single time, and then played tonight, a little colder. I felt like the ball was coming at me a lot slower. I wasn’t getting my feet set properly. I think that was a big part of it.

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“I was definitely a little nervous, but that wasn’t really why I lost eight games in a row. I just couldn’t find my feet. Obviously playing a guy like Alex, who is not going to give you anything for free, that’s always in the back of your head when the balls fluff up quickly, you can’t hit a winner… I requested day session. Obviously not gonna get it. Yeah.”

Night sessions have been a big topic of conversation, with Jessica Pegula claiming it was like playing on a clay court after losing to Olga Danilovic.

What was Alex Michelsen ‘super happy’ with in his straight sets defeat to Alex de Minaur?

Although Michelsen was beaten in straight sets by De Minaur, the world number 42 was pleased with how he fought after losing the first eight games of the match.

“Yeah, I was super happy with the way I fought,” said Michelsen. “I put myself in a position to almost win a set playing poorly off a top-10 player. I was super happy with that. He came up with the goods in the breaker. Hit that forehand pass at 5-4 and the ace at 5-All. Credit to him there.

“Super happy with even getting it to a breaker there in that set, because it did not feel very good at the first hour of the match. It was really poor. So super happy to just compete and almost find a way in that second set.”

Michelsen will now turn his attention to USA’s tie against Chinese Taipei, with the Davis Cup Qualifiers featuring Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios.

He will then head back home for hard court tournaments in Dallas and Delray Beach.

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