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Match Report
#NextGenATP Michelsen ends Gasquet’s fairytale run in Metz
Moutet advances to semi-finals after Rublev withdraws due to abdominal pain
November 05, 2024
Moselle Open
Alex Michelsen survives a thriller to advance to the quarter-finals at the Moselle Open.
By Jerome Coombe
Alex Michelsen had little time for sentiment on Tuesday at the Moselle Open.
The #NextGenATP star rallied from the brink of defeat to secure a thrilling comeback victory over Richard Gasquet, ending the Frenchman’s fairytale final run in Metz. Michelsen saved two match points in the deciding-set tie-break before sealing a 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-6(8) triumph.
“I wasn’t really thinking, I was just playing,” said Michelsen, who is second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. “I felt super calm in the pressure moments and I think that was why I came through. I was down two match points and I found two winners.”
In an absorbing battle, it was Michelsen who held his nerve, striking 65 winners en route to his seventh quarter-final of 2024. The 20-year-old will next face either Buyunchaokete or qualifier Jesper de Jong for a place in the last four.
“He’s been doing it for 20 years and he is still that good,” Michelsen added of Gasquet, who is retiring at the conclusion of Roland Garros 2025. “He’s an incredible player. I knew it was going to be a tough battle. All the credit to him for competing as hard as he could.”
Gasquet, who made the first of his 33 ATP Tour finals in Metz, was bidding to become the oldest quarter-finalist in tournament history. The 38-year-old had the match on his racket at 6/4 in the final set tie-break, but Michelsen produced some inspired tennis to cross the line.
Earlier, it seemed as if the news that Andrey Rublev had qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals might just have been his tonic.
The top seed at the indoor ATP 250 dialled in for a hard-fought 7-6(3), 7-5 win over Lorenzo Sonego, the 2022 champion. In a battle dominated by the server, Rublev found the only break of the match to seal a one-hour, 52-minute victory.
“It was a tough match, he is playing really well, he beat me the last two times,” said Rublev, who levelled the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2. “With the way he serves, and how he plays with the forehand, it’s really tough to play against him. The first set could have gone either way, but as soon as I had a chance, I was able to take it.”
Rublev has since withdrawn from the main draw citing abdominal pain, meaning that Corentin Moutet will advance straight to the semi-finals. Buoyed by the crowd, the Frenchman found some inspired tennis to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-3. Moutet was particularly dialled in during the final set, during which he carved out eight break points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.