Musetti vs Shelton, Khachanov vs Michelsen

The young American Alex Michelsen will fight against Russia’s Karen Khachanov for a place in the Australian Open round of 16. American Ben Shelton will also be in action on Saturday against the difficult Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

(19) Karen Khachanov vs. Alex Michelsen

Alex Michelsen, a 20-year-old upstart from the USA, plays better than his no. 42 ranking suggests. He has had a good start to the season, with the biggest win of his career coming in the first round this week over world no. 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas. Michelsen is ready to have a major ATP breakthrough in 2025.

Karen Khachanov has historically played well in Melbourne, but he faltered a bit last year and has not been particularly impressive so far in 2025. The Russian failed to win a match in his Australian Open tuneup event in Hong Kong before beating Adrian Mannarino and Gabriel Diallo to earn his place in the third round at Melbourne Park. This is another potential early-round upset, although it won’t be as shocking as Daniil Medvedev’s second-round exit to American teenager Learner Tien. Look for a protracted battle with Michelsen the favorite.

Cheryl pick: Michelsen in 4

Ricky pick: Michelsen in 4th

(16) Lorenzo Musetti vs. (21) Ben Shelton

Both Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Musetti have been working hard at the Australian Open this week. Shelton was pushed by American Brandon Nakashima in the first round and he dropped a set to Pablo Carreno Busta in the second. The former University of Florida star posted impressive serving stats in terms of aces and points won against Carreno Busta, but he served at 61 percent; he will have to do better than that against Musetti.

Musetti has beaten Shelton in both of their previous meetings, but as usual for the American, the fights were close. Because no. The 21 seed has one of the hardest serves in all of tennis, the outcome is often decided by tiebreakers. Musetti won only one match in his tuneup event in Hong Kong; the Italian hasn’t necessarily been at his best yet in 2025. This is a good opportunity for Shelton to record his first win over Moose.

Cheryl’s pick: Shelton in 5th

Ricky’s choice: Musetti in 5