Alex Michelsen recovered from a set down to beat Jiri Lehecka 6–7(5), 6–2, 6–4 at the Paris Masters on November 3, earning a second-round meeting with Carlos Alcaraz.
The American lost a closely contested opening tie-break 7–5 but responded by taking the second set 6–2. He completed the comeback in two hours and 17 minutes, finishing with an ace on his first match point, according to the tournament’s report.
Michelsen’s return game helped turn the match. Tennis.com recorded four breaks from 15 opportunities for the American, while Lehecka converted only one of seven chances. Michelsen also won 49 of 61 points behind his first serve, an 80 per cent success rate.
Lehecka had won their meeting in Madrid earlier this season in straight sets. In Paris, however, Michelsen protected his serve more effectively as the contest developed. The victory brings him back to the tournament’s second round, a stage he also reached in 2024, and gives him a high-profile test against Alcaraz.
Archive photo (August 2023): Alex Michelsen on an ESPN set at the US Open. Photo: “Alex Michelsen (2023 US Open) 26” by Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized; adaptation shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. This image is not from the November 2026 match.
