Alex Michelsen vs Karen Khachanov Prediction & Picks - ATP Australian Open

Prediction published on 1/17/25, 3:48 PM  by Tyler Doty in ATP Australian Open Picks

20-year-old American Alex Michelsen takes on 28-year-old Russian Karen Khachanov in the Australian Open Grand Slam Round of 16. Alex Michelsen, playing in this tournament for the second time in his career, created a surprise in the first round when he eliminated the number 11 seed and 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in a 4-set match. He then won his second-round match against local James McCabe in just 3 sets. Semi-finalist at the ATP Next Gen Finals at the end of the year, the American was a quarter-finalist at the Auckland tournament at the beginning of January and seems to be on the rise.

Meanwhile, Karen Khachanov, seeded number 19, won his first-round match in just 3 sets against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. He then lost his only set of the second round to Canadian Gabriel Diallo. A semi-finalist at this Grand Slam in 2023, the Russian also reached the last eight last year and should therefore be in a position to win today's match. Concluding his 2024 season with a semi-final at the Paris-Bercy Masters, he should quickly demonstrate his superiority against the American.