match report
Mikaelson breaks clay court drought, Houston wins
Basavareddy clashes with Tian; Nakajima, Hijikata, Echeverri advance
April 1, 2026
Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Alex Michelson plays in Houston on Tuesday.
Written by ATP Staff
Alex Michelsen ended a year-long wait for a tour-level clay-court victory on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Coleman Wong in the first round of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.
The 21-year-old, who has not won a track event since last year’s event in Houston, became the youngest American quarterfinalist at the event since Taylor Fritz in 2018. Since then, he has lost five consecutive tour-level matches on the court, which made the first-round victory a good start for his 2026 clay court season.
“It was a very tough game,” Michelson said. “It was the first time for everyone playing on clay, so it was just a matter of getting my feet wet a little bit. I was lucky enough to win the first set and felt good in the second set.”
The first set was a fierce battle, with both men saving multiple break points. Michelsen made a breakthrough in the 10th game, taking advantage of Huang’s declining level to seal the first set. The Americans didn’t look back, sealing the victory in 1 hour and 25 minutes. The seventh seed ultimately won 77% (23/30) of his first serve points and saved all three break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Statistics.
Michelsen has found her groove in recent weeks, reaching the fourth round at ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami. The 21-year-old will aim to continue that form and keep the momentum going in Houston, where he will next face either Alexei Popyrin or fellow American Patrick Kypson.
In Tuesday’s other first-round match, home favorite Nishesh Basavareddy beat qualifier Liam Draxl 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to set up a national second-round matchup with third-seeded Learn Tien. Tenn leads 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and defeated Basava Reddy in the semifinals of the Next Generation ATP Finals in December.
Brandon Nakajima was also among the Americans who advanced to the second round at the ATP 250 clay-court event on Tuesday. The fifth seed defeated compatriot Martin Damm 7-6(0), 6-2 in 1 hour and 31 minutes. Rinky Hijikata defeated home hopeful Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-2 and will next face 2023 champion Frances Tiafoe.
Argentina’s Tomas Martin Echeverry recovered from a slow start to beat fellow Argentinian Federico Augustin Gomez 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Echeverri improved his clay-court record to 9-1 this season with the victory in one hour and 57 minutes, clinching his first tour-level title in Rio de Janeiro and reaching the semifinals of the ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires. The sixth seed will face Australian qualifier Alex Bolt in the second round.
