Alexander Zverev vs Alex Michelsen: 2024 Australian Open - Preview & Prediction

18/01/2024 20:00 | by Zachary Wimer

Alexander Zverev is staring at a pretty complicated matchup against Alex Michelsen at the 2024 Australian Open, so can he handle it?

Zverev has been playing really well Down Under, leading Germany to the United Cup trophy. He looked pretty solid in Melbourne as well, though his most recent match was very complicated, as he barely pulled through in five sets against Lukas Klein.

It's not getting any easier, as he's set to face Alex Michelsen, who is quite a talented youngster capable of doing some damage. He's a typical baseliner with the ability to hurt you from either side, and that makes him quite dangerous on the Melbourne courts.

Head-to-head:

Zverev and Michelsen obviously never played against each other since the Americans only started to play recently on the ATP Tour. Even last year, many of his matches came on the Challenger Tour, but expect good things this year from him.

There is quite a bit of talent there, and especially in these quicker conditions, Michelsen can do some damage. Zverev can be passive at times, which Lukas Klein showed in the last match, so this matchup could certainly prove devastating for the German.

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Thursday, 18 January 2024

Alexander Zverev		Alex Michelsen
0	H2H	0
6	Rank	91
26	Age	19
6-1	2024 W/L	4-2
400-178	Career W/L	9-10

Prediction:

Michelsen impressed by beating Jiri Lehecka in the second round, as that was somewhat of an upset. Nobody really saw it coming, the same way nobody saw Zverev struggling against Klein.

Something similar might happen in this matchup because Michelsen is expected to be bold here. He's got nothing to lose, Zverev can be beaten, and he tends to get passive in rallies sometimes.

With that said, I do expect Zverev to come out on top because he is the better player and should find a way to win the match, even if it's through tiebreaks.

Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in four sets.

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