Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – Alex Michelsen rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday, converting his lucky seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the ATP Toronto Masters. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world.
“It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work and it’s paying off a little bit. I was wondering when it would happen and I guess it is starting to happen right now.” He added, “I returned really well today. I played offensive tennis and executed really well.”
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Eighth-seeded Casper Ruud shook off a slow start to beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 7-5, 6-4. The Norwegian was playing only his fourth match since Roland Garros after missing Wimbledon because of injury. Trailing 4-1 in the first set, Ruud thwarted Borges’s two chances for a 5-1 lead, methodically lifting his game and taking control with a late break before earning the lone break of the second set for his 20th win of the season.
“I just crawled into the first set,” said Ruud, who fired nine aces. “I was able to get back into it. One break and things can happen. I raised my return game and got more balls back into play. In the second set I got the break and served my way through.”
Despite his sluggish start, Ruud was delighted to beat Borges after falling to him at Roland Garros in May. “It was nice to get my revenge,” said Ruud, who next faces 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov. Khachanov, seeded 11th, defeated US qualifier Emilio Nava 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-1 to book his second Masters round of 16 spot this season. Ruud and Khachanov last played in a 2022 US Open semi-final won by the Norwegian.
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