Alex Michelsen upsets Tsitsipas at the Australian Open and thanks his Mom

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — 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 he knew instinctively where credit was due.

The 20-year-old American overcame nerves on his serve in the fourth set before clinching a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win Monday over Tsitsipas, a 26-year-old from Greece who has a career-high No. 3 ranking and has contested two Grand Slam finals.

Michelsen started playing tennis around age 3 and hit most days as a kid with his mother, Sondra, a school teacher who played college tennis.

“Yeah, I’m sure she’s watching right now,” Michelsen told the crowd on John Cain Arena, one of the three main show courts at Melbourne Park. "Yeah, we hit a million balls from the baseline every day. We’d go like 30 minutes up the middle, then we go across each way for like an hour and a half.

“I mean we would just go out there and she would never miss a ball — she’s incredible. But no chance I’d be here without without her, so thanks Mom. Love you."

The No. 42-ranked Michelsen reached the third round last year on his Australia debut before losing in the first rounds at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and in the second round at the U.S. Open.

His win over Tsitsipas was Michelsen's first against a player ranked in the top 20 at a Grand Slam.

He played with freedom against Tsitsipas, taking big swipes with his service returns — including three in the ninth game of the fourth set that helped earn him a vital break.

He got a bit tense on serve, surrendering two hard-earned breaks in the fourth set, but stayed composed in the last game.

“Yeah, I didn’t take the most direct path, that’s for sure. Shouldn’t have got broken twice in the fourth. My serve let me down. Served double faulting way too much,” he said. "But I was also returning really, really well. I felt like I was winning most of the baseline rallies when I was inside the baseline and controlling the point.

“So I was thinking at 4-all, after I got broken twice, saying, ‘You’re still in this, just play every point for what it is.’ I played a great 4-all game and got it done at 5-4.”

He finished the match with eight aces and eight double-faults, but hit 46 winners to only 40 unforced errors.

“First of all, I was just trying to stay super composed out there. I knew it was going to be a battle in the end,” he said. "It’s all about the mindset.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece reacts after winning a point against Alex Michelsen of the U.S. during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece reacts during a break in his first round match against Alex Michelsen of the U.S. at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Alex Michelsen of the U.S. reacts after winning a point against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Alex Michelsen of the U.S. reacts after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Alex Michelsen of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Alex Michelsen of the U.S. reacts as he is interviewed on court following his first round win over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)