Alex Michelsen is in action at the French Open in round two against fellow American Nishesh Basavareddy on Wednesday, while Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina battles in-form Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante.
Alex Michelsen vs. Nishesh Basavareddy
Give Nishesh Basavareddy his due for that first round. The 21-year-old, ranked No. 148 and playing on a wild card he earned through the USTA’s Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge, knocked out seventh seed Taylor Fritz 7-6(5) 7-6(5) 6-7(9) 6-1. Two tiebreakers against a top-10 player, and he won both — although admittedly Fritz is still hobbled with knee tendinitis. Basavareddy looked composed in the pressure moments. His ATP clay numbers are thin, but his Challenger/ITF clay record (9-3 in the last 52 weeks) suggests the surface isn’t alien to him.
That being said, Alex Michelsen is a meaningful step up in a different way than Fritz. He is ranked No. 42 and dispatched Alexander Shevchenko 6-2 6-4 6-2 in his opener. Michelsen has been inconsistent on clay in 2026 (5-6 on the surface this year), but his first round showed none of it. The head-to-head is 2-0 for Basavareddy on hard courts, but they have never met on clay — so you can only weigh that so much. The more relevant factor is that Michelsen’s power should translate better over five sets than anything Basavareddy’s clay game has been tested to sustain at this level. The Fritz result makes the underdog dangerous, but Michelsen should close this out.
Cheryl pick: Michelsen in 3
Ricky pick: Michelsen in 4
(21) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Thiago Agustin Tirante
What Alejandro Davidovich Fokina did in his first round was impressive. It was also alarming. The 21st seed beat Damir Dzumhur 6-7(3), 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, but the score doesn’t capture how close it got. With ADF down a set and a break in the fourth, Dzumhur served for the match. ADF saved the match point, then didn’t drop another game in that set and closed it out in five. He was visibly cramping throughout the fifth, hitting flat winners with no legs to work with because that was the only option available to him. Whether his body has recovered from four-plus hours in 90-degree Paris heat is the central question heading into Wednesday.
Thiago Agustin Tirante had a much cleaner opener. The Argentine, ranked No. 69 and reaching the second round at Roland Garros for the first time, beat Pablo Llamas Ruiz 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 6-0 and hit 20 aces along the way. That serve is a legitimate weapon on clay. They have met once before (ADF won 7-6(2) 6-2 on indoor hard in Stockholm in 2024), so there’s no clay head-to-head to work from. Tirante’s ranking and fresh legs make him a real threat to a compromised Davidovich Fokina. I’m picking the Argentine for the upset.
Cheryl pick: Tirante in 4
Ricky pick: Tirante in 4
Basa actually has a good chance here since he will take confidence from beating Fritz, though his game could also drop after such a big win, and has a good HTH with Michelsen, Basavareddy in 5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2
Davidovich Fokina in 5, 6-7(4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
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Michelsen in four
Tirante in four he’s in better form