Alex Michelsen’s drive for his first ATP title is very much alive, but he’s in no mood for birthday presents, or even a cake, on Sunday when he turns 20.
Instead, he’d rather have the trophy at the Winston-Salem Open on Saturday if he can win the championship.
Michelsen defeated Pablo Carreno Busta, 7-6, 2-1 after an abdominal injury forced Carreno Busta to retire in the fourth game of the second set because of an injury.
What had Michelsen even more stoked after his match was the live rankings. The Californian busted into the top 50 for the first time in his young career. He started the week at No. 52 but is No. 49.
“That’s a big one for me and that’s what I set out to do at the beginning of the year and now it’s August and I’m there,” Michelsen said.
Michelson, the 11th-seed, said he liked where his game is right now.
“I was feeling pretty good at the end of the first and the beginning of the second (set) and it’s shame he couldn’t continue,” Michelsen said. “I know he’s been dealing a lot of injuries the last couple of years but I’m happy nonetheless.”
Michelsen won a tense tiebreaker in the first set on his serve with Carreno Busta failing to return a volley on his backhand. He was actually down 5-2 in the first set but got more offensive and it paid off.
“I just tried to get to the net and the backhand down the line is one of my favorite shots and started to do what I wanted to do,” Michelsen said.
Carreno Busta, a wild-card entry, was the 2016 winner of the Winston-Salem Open and said he suffered an abdominal strain earlier in the tournament and he tried to play through it on Friday night.
“It’s not good news to finish the tournament like that,” Carreno Busta said. “It was an amazing week for me and getting to semifinals after two years for it is special.”
Carreno Busta, 33, came into the tournament ranked 299th on his way back from a myriad of injuries. He has won seven titles in his career but said it was too difficult to continue in the match.
“Yesterday I could play, and I was serving a little slower but today I tried and it was tough for me to play,” Carreno Busta said.
For Michelsen, who is from Laguna Hills, California, has reached his third final of his career and he’ll play 10th-seeded Lorenzo Sonego. He lost in the Newport final in mid-July to Marcos Giron.
“It would be a nice early birthday present for me,” he said about the final.
When asked about playing for 13 out of the last 14 days in tournament play, he honestly couldn’t remember. But he said the shorter match because of Carreno Busta’s injury could help.
“I think I’ve got one more in me,” Michelsen said.
Michelson has a chance to be the youngest winner in the 13-year history of the tournament.
The match begins at 5 p.m. following the doubles championship.
