Alex Michelsen rejecting calls to give his towel away. (Image: Eurosport.)
Alex Michelsen had to repeatedly inform members of the crowd that he would not be handing over his match-used towel, as other players have done after their games.
The American had not done himself any favours with the Melbourne crowd already, having knocked out one of their home stars in James McCabe, winning 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
It has been an outstanding week for the world No. 42, having , and he made sure to hold onto any potential memorabilia for his family.
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As Michelsen was packing up his equipment, a couple of young fans were calling out to be given their own memento and spotted his towel, asking if he could throw it to them.
However, Michelsen stood firm and insisted that he could not give it away as his mum had already asked for it.
“My mom wants one I have to keep it,” an apologetic Michelsen said. “My mom wants one.”
Michelsen’s mother, Sondra, a school teacher who played tennis in college, is someone who clearly means so much to the rising star.
Alex Michelsen celebrating his second-round victory. (Image: Getty)
He sent a heartfelt message to her after defeating Tsitsipas, saying: “Yeah, I’m sure she’s watching right now. 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 her, so thanks Mom. Love you.”
The 2022 boys’ doubles champion hails from a sporting family, with mum Sondra winning the Big West Conference Tennis Championships with San Diego State University. She was also awarded the prestigious Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship in 1989.
His father Erik represented the University of Redlands, where he was a three-time All-American.
When it’s for your mum, you can’t share ??????
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen)
But for Michelsen, who was recently in Saudi Arabia for the Next Gen Finals before heading to the Australian Open, tennis was instilled in him from his mother.
“She taught me how to play and I was hitting with her almost every day until I was 15 or 16,” he said last year. “My earliest tennis memory was when I was four and it started raining and I was crying to her because I couldn’t play.”
With such a big impact on Michelsen’s career, it’s clear why her request to get a towel back from her son’s match at the Australian Open was honoured without hesitation. Even if a few fans had to go home empty-handed.