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No. 3 seed Alex Michelsen and 328th-ranked qualifier Michael Mmoh had a tense moment during their Delray Beach Open as the two exchanged some words just before the start of the second set.
On Wednesday evening, Mmoh won an absolute thriller of a first set 7-6 (8).
Following the conclusion of the opener which lasted an hour and 22 minutes, the qualifier left the court.
After returning, the world No. 328 appeared to say something to his rival.
Michelsen responded as he was heard saying: "I didn't start it... I was talking to you, and then he talks to me."
When the match resumed, the world No. 37 claimed back-to-back breaks to open a 3-0 second-set lead.
Up by a set but down by two breaks in the second set, Mmoh retired from the match.
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Michelsen addresses the incident
After the match, the No. 3 seed was asked about the tense moment.
However, he wasn't interested in revealing any details.
"I told him at the net I wanted to talk about it with him inside. I don't want say too much [outside]. I don't want to say the wrong things. I mean, it's all good. Everything's gonna be fine," Michelsen said.
Also, the 20-year-old was asked if he noticed that Mmoh was dealing with an injury or a setback before he retired from the match.
"No, he didn't but it looked like it, I mean he had to go off-court so something with his glute. It's what it looked like and I saw him grab it a couple of times," the third-seeded American said.
Meanwhile, Michelsen is now set to play against Cameron Norrie in the Delray Beach quarterfinal.
It will be their second meeting in as many weeks as 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Norrie beat the American 2-6 7-6 (1) 6-1 last week.
