Carlos Alcaraz has been drawn against Alex Michelsen in the first round of the Japan Open.

The Spaniard is the top seed at the ATP 500 tournament and Frances Tiafoe is the only other member of the top 10 to feature at the Japanese event.

Nevertheless, Alcaraz has been fairly unlucky to draw a player as established as Michelsen, who has been ranked as high as world No 30 in the ATP Tour rankings.

At world No 34 currently, he will provide a very tough test for Alcaraz, who is looking to win his first ATP title since the Qatar Open in February.

Michelsen and Alcaraz have never played a singles match on the ATP Tour, but the rising American has seen up close the talent that the world No 3 possesses.

The pair both played the Laver Cup together in 2025 and Michelsen was floored by what Alcaraz was producing when he played doubles against him in San Francisco.

Alcaraz teamed with Casper Ruud to take on Michelsen and Alex de Minaur, which was surprisingly won by the Team World pairing.

Nevertheless, Michelsen was stunned by what Alcaraz was doing against him.

More Carlos Alcaraz news

Speaking on Nothing Major last year, Michelsen said: “I watched Carlos play against [Francisco] Cerundolo the next day, and the guy was just hitting the c— out of the ball, and he makes everything look easy. And he’s so fast!,” said Michelsen.

“When I was playing him in doubles, I thought for sure it was a put-away ball. I was already fist-pumping, and I was like dude. This guy is a joke! I would agree [he is the fastest player of all time].”

Alcaraz has not been dealt an easy hand of it as the Japan Open, despite the lack of top-ranked players at the tournament.

Should he get past Michelsen in the first round, he will likely play Matteo Arnaldi. The Italian reached the semifinals of Roland Garros this year, so he will not be a pushover.

Tommy Paul could be Alcaraz’s quarterfinal opponent, whilst Taylor Fritz is looking the most likely to play the Spaniard in the final four of the event.

Alcaraz could play a hatrick of Americans at the tournament as Tiafoe looks like the most likely man to meet the star in the final.

Considering the likes of Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic are not playing the Japan Open, that is a very difficult run through to a title for anybody, let alone a player who has only played two tournaments in the last five months.