"Felt like we're on a cute little date" - American Alex Michelsen addresses unexpected twinning with compatriot Learner Tien in Houston

Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien met in the first round of the US clay court leg in Houston. Michelsen comfortably defeated his compatriot, but that was not what drew the viewers' attention. Coincidentally, they wore the same outfits while playing against each other.

Michelsen outplayed Tien in all aspects of the game. He scored seven aces with a first-serve win percentage as high as 87%, in comparison to 68% for Tien. The 20-year-old won 70% of points on the second serve of the other American and bludgeoned 27 winners, whereas the 19-year-old was just able to score 11 winners. Overall, the American displayed a dominant performance in a straight-set victory.

The thing that caught the eyes of most of the people was the outfits the two Americans wore. Michelsen and Tien are sponsored by Adidas and, coincidentally, donned the same outfits for this ATP 250 event: black Adidas T-shirts with neon shorts, caps and wristbands.

In an on-court interview, Micheslen was asked about the matching outfits, and whether they discussed it. Michelsen replied:

“Actually, it was in the locker room, and he was like bro, are you wearing this? I just got my shorts, and you have a black shirt, and I was like Yeah. And then he is like dude…we are wearing the same outfit (laughing). I mean, it felt like we were on a cute little date. We were in matching outfits, it was great.”

Michelsen and Tien are very close friends off the court, which is reflected in the conversation the former shared in his interview. Both took the incident very sportingly and made it a fun sight for the fans.

The American will face the winner of the match between Yannick Hanfmann and Nicolas Moreno De Alboran in the second round.

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Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien’s highs and lows of the 2025 season

Learner Tien (L) and Alex Michelsen(R) shaking hands after the first round match in Houston - Source: Getty

Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien had disappointing ends to the hardcourt season, as they faced early-round exits at the Sunshine Double. However, both young prodigies sprang to the scene this season by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in their maiden Grand Slam appearances, where they defeated notable players.

Michelsen defeated 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and 19th seed Karen Khachanov en route to the fourth round. On the other hand, Tien had to go through the qualification rounds to reach the main draw. He won five matches on the trot before he fell to Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round, including when he defeated fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in a five-set encounter.

The two are two of the young prospects on the ATP tour, along with Joao Fonseca, Jakub Mensik, and others. These young players, aged 20 or younger, can cause serious trouble to the top-ranked players and even dethrone them from their positions.