"Keep the sport fair": Nick Kyrgios, Martina Navratilova bemoan Alex Michelsen evading default for hitting fan; Denis Shapovalov rues double standards

Nick Kyrgios, Martina Navratilova and Denis Shapovalov were among the tennis personalities who reacted to Alex Michelsen escaping a default after hitting a ball into the crowd during his Winston-Salem Open final against Lorenzo Sonego. The American suffered a crushing 0-6, 3-6 defeat to the Italian in what was his second final of 2024.

The incident happened during the fourth game of the match when Sonego broke Michelsen after the American's shot was out. The latter then hit a ball into the crowd out of frustration and chair umpire Aurelie Tourte went to check if everything was alright. Michelsen was not defaulted and later apologized to the crowd before the play resumed.

However, a few people from the tennis fraternity were far from pleased to see the 20-year-old escape a default, considering there have been similar incidents when the outcomes were different.

These included Nick Kyrgios, who claimed that a default should have been issued. The Aussie also said that the sport needed to be fair for everyone.

"DEFAULT. my goodness stop with these grey areas. PROHIBITED AT ALL TIMES. same same... gotta keep the sport fair for everyone," Kyrgios wrote on X.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova said that Alex Michelsen should have been defaulted.

"Should have been a default. No doubt about it," the 67-year-old wrote.

Denis Shapovalov also spoke of the incident, saying that the rules were different for different players.

"Different rules for different players," he wrote.

The Canadian added:

"I might have to pin this tweet soon."

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Boris Becker and John Millman react to Alex Michelsen's controversial incident

Boris Becker at the Paris Olympics (Source: Getty)

Tennis legend Boris Becker and former player John Millman were also among the ones who gave their thoughts on Alex Michelsen's incident. Becker said that while he didn't want any players to be defaulted, the rules should be the same for all.

"I don’t want any players to be defaulted during the match but you got to make rules consistent for all," the former World No. 1 wrote on X.

John Millman said that Michelsen's incident was not too different from the one that saw Novak Djokovic being defaulted at the 2020 US Open.

"You don’t want to see players getting defaulted but I don’t see much difference between this incident and Novak’s US2020 default," the Aussie wrote on X.

Michelsen is set to enter the Top 50 of the ATP rankings following his run to the final of the Winston-Salem Open.

The 20-year-old will next compete at the US Open and will be up against compatriot Eliot Spizzirri in the first round. It will be the first meeting between the two and the winner will face either World No. 1 Jannik Sinner or Mackenzie McDonald in the second round.