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Preview: Michelsen and Tien take their Fortnite rivalry to the Jeddah track

Van Assche and Fonseca will play the other semifinal of the day

December 20, 2024

Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien may be inseparable off the court, but add a competitive touch, like Fortnite battles and table tennis duels, and their friendship can turn into a fierce rivalry. So much so that the face to face between the two is the cause of a fun debate. Tien insists he is trailing 1-2, but Michelsen includes doubles in the count, confidently claiming a 4-1 lead.

The truth is that history will change in Saturday’s semifinals at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, where Michelsen and Tien will meet in their first professional meeting.

While Michelsen achieved a perfect 3-0 record in the Red Group, Tien sealed his qualification on the final day of the Blue Group. Michelsen sat in Tien’s player box throughout that game, cheering his friend on to win.

When Tien defeated world number 20 Arthur Fils to sign the biggest ranking victory of his career, Michelsen turned around and pointed to the back of his jacket, which said “Victory Royale2, a phrase used in the video game Fortnite when a player is the last one standing. It was a moment that perfectly described their friendship.

“We play a lot of Fortnite together, so it’s kind of a joke,” Tien said. “Our agent got us tracksuits that say that on the back. “We both have different colors.”

[2] Alex Michelsen (USA) vs [5] Learner Tien (USA)
Only one of the two will take home a “Victory Royale” after fighting for a place in the championship match in Jeddah.

Second-seeded Michelsen overcame his 0-3 record last year in Jeddah to go 3-0 in the group stage this year. The number 41 in the PIF ATP Rankings has compiled a record of 34-29 this season, a total that includes appearances in championship matches in Newport and Winston-Salem.

Tien is also aiming to become the second Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion from the United States (after 2022 winner Brandon Nakashima). If the southpaw can defeat Michelsen on Saturday, he will have surprised the three highest-ranked players in the field after their group stage wins against top seed Arthur Fils and third seed Jakub Mensik.

[6] Luca Van Assche (FRA) vs [8] Joao Fonseca (BRA)
Adding his name to the record books amid elite company like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz is a difficult task. Yet that’s what 18-year-old Fonseca has done in Jeddah, becoming the second-youngest semi-finalist in the event’s history, just a month younger than 2019 champion Sinner.

In his first round-robin match, the Brazilian defeated world No. 20 Arthur Fils to achieve the biggest ranking victory of his career. Fonseca, who won the Blue Group, became the youngest man to achieve a victory against a Top 20 since Alcaraz defeated then No. 14 David Goffin in 2021 (Melbourne-1).

Sinner and Alcaraz are former champions of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF and now Fonseca is two wins away from joining them in that right. Fonseca began the season at No. 730 in the PIF ATP Rankings and is currently No. 145 after a breakthrough year in which he reached two tour-level quarterfinals (Rio de Janeiro, Bucharest) and won his first ATP Challenger Tour title.

Van Assche arrives hungry, aiming to improve on last year’s semi-final performance in Jeddah. The Frenchman, the fifth player to reach multiple semifinals in the under-20 event, advanced in a win-or-go battle on Friday against Nishesh Basavareddy. Van Assche, who finished second in Group Red, will activate his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Fonseca.

“I know him because he is an incredible talent,” Van Assche told ATPTour.com when asked about facing Fonseca. “I practiced with him four or five days ago here, I also think once before [en otro lugar]. He is a tough opponent, no doubt. His level is very high, but I know I can beat him. It will be a very good game, a difficult one, but you practice to play these games, so it will be great.”

The 20-year-old has played his best tennis under pressure this season. Van Assche reached the third round of the Australian Open thanks to two consecutive five-set victories. In Jeddah, he claimed a pair of four-set wins (against Shang Juncheng and Basavareddy) to continue his quest to become the first Frenchman to win the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

Semifinalists twice at the Next Gen ATP Finals