There are three American men aged 23 and under in the second week of a Grand Slam. That hasn't happened since 2003

Two of four American men still playing in Melbourne, Irvine native Tien, 19, and Aliso Viejo native Michelsen, 20, became friends on the youth tennis circuit

Two friends from California, Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen, have both reached the fourth round at the Australian Open

Alex Michelsen, part of a group of Americans making an impact at the Australian Open, defeated No. 19 seed Karen Khachanov to reach the round of 16.

Alex de Minaur is bidding to reach his first Australian Open quarterfinal, however, talented Alex Michelsen isn't going to make his assignment easy.

Alex Michelsen produced the biggest win so far of his fledgling career to upset 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the Australian Open and the first person he credited was his mom.