The clay-court swing gets underway on Monday, when Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien will square off at the ATP 250 in Houston. Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Aleksandar Kovacevic are also taking the court.
(5) Alex Michelsen vs. Learner Tien
It will be a showdown between great friends and fellow California natives when Michelsen and Tien go head-to-head for the second time in their careers in round one of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Monday evening. They previously faced each other in the semis of the 2024 NextGen ATP Finals, with Tien prevailing 2-4, 4-2, 1-4, 4-0, 4-1.
Michelsen’s rise began in earnest last season and the 20-year-old is up to No. 33 in the world. Now it is Tien’s turn to announce himself on tour, which the 19-year-old has done with a fourth-round performance at the Australian Open and a quarterfinal result in Acapulco (upset Alexander Zverev in the process). Neither American is good on clay, but the surface should favor Tien. The left-hander is more comfortable playing long points and he will get better looks at Michelsen’s serve on the slow stuff.
Pick: Tien in 3
Aleksandar Kovacevic vs. (7) Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Etcheverry came within one set of reaching the Houston final last spring (lost to eventual champion Ben Shelton) and he should have a good chance to make it at least that far in his return trip to this tournament. The Argentine has not been in spectacular form in 2025, but the clay-court swing should be just what the doctor ordered. All three of Etcheverry’s ATP finals have come on the red stuff (including Houston in 2023) and he was a French Open quarterfinalist two years ago.
Up first for the world No. 44 on Monday is Kovacevic, whom he has never faced. The 79th-ranked American is playing the best tennis of his career right now, but he is an absolute novice on clay. Kovacevic is just 19-24 lifetime across all levels on this surface; by comparison, he has won 177 matches on hard courts. Etcheverry should roll.
Pick: Etcheverry in 2
WWW?
Tien in 3; EtchaSketch in 2
Oops.I had Michelsen and Etcheverry in three. Tien is brilliant but not quite used to clay
Michelsen isn’t exactly a clay-court savant….