MELBOURNE, Australia — Learner Tien, a 19-year-old qualifier from California, grew to become the youngest American man to succeed in the Australian Open’s third spherical since Pete Sampras in 1990, upsetting a racket-tossing Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (8), 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in a match that started Thursday evening and ended within the wee hours of Friday.
The 4-hour, 49-minute contest had a little bit of all the pieces, together with — laborious to consider — a six-minute rain delay that interrupted play shortly earlier than 2:30 a.m. with Tien serving at 5-all, 15-all within the fifth set. Once they resumed, Medvedev broke and served for the victory at 6-5, however Tien would not cede a factor, broke again, and compelled the concluding first-to-10 tiebreaker that he emerged to win shortly earlier than 3 a.m., about two hours after he did not convert his preliminary match level.
“Perception is an enormous factor in succeeding and profitable, typically. I all the time go on the courtroom believing that there is a probability I can win,” stated Tien, who confirmed up at his information convention toting a white cardboard field with a pepperoni pizza. “I wasn’t attempting to think about the match as something extra necessary than another match I’ve ever performed. I used to be simply going to go on the market, have enjoyable, see what I might do.”
As for the postmatch snack, he stated, “It was both going to be celebratory or a binge-y, like, cope. It feels higher it is extra celebratory, for certain.”
The end result was eyebrow-raising due to the vast gulf in expertise and accomplishments between the 2 gamers at Margaret Courtroom Area. Tien is ranked 121st and owned a profession Grand Slam file of 0-3 earlier than this week; Medvedev was seeded No. 5, gained the 2021 US Open and was the runner-up at Melbourne Park in three of the previous 4 years, together with 12 months in the past.
“It was undoubtedly more durable than possibly it might have been, however, no matter,” Tien stated on courtroom proper afterward, then advised the gang: “I actually respect all you guys staying out right here. I do know it is late. I don’t know what time it’s.”
Tien’s upset over Medvedev was the largest upset within the males’s draw by betting odds thus far, as Tien closed as a +400 underdog, in line with ESPN BET odds. Nevertheless, the largest upset of this yr’s match thus far got here on the ladies’s aspect when Laura Siegemund, a +1100 underdog by ESPN BET odds, took down 5-seed Zheng Qinwen in second-round play.
“I used to be undoubtedly hoping it would not go to a fifth-set breaker. … It was undoubtedly more durable than possibly it might have been, however, no matter,” Tien stated, then advised the gang: “I actually respect all you guys staying out right here. I do know it is late. I don’t know what time it’s.”
Due to the time distinction, the match ended at about 8 a.m. on Thursday morning again dwelling in California, and he took the microphone to talk on to his household — he stated he hoped they had been tuned in on TV.
“I do not know if my mother and father are nonetheless watching. … I like you guys. Thanks for all the time supporting me from the world over,” Tien stated. “I do know you guys want you possibly can be right here. I want you possibly can be right here, too.”
The left-handed Tien performed fearlessly and nearly flawlessly for stretches, surprisingly getting the higher of prolonged exchanges on the baseline: Throughout the primary two units, he gained 32 of the 51 factors that lasted 9 or extra strokes, even popping out on high on one which went 45 photographs and one other that lasted 32.
Tien didn’t blink till he reached the precipice of by far his most necessary win, holding a match level within the third-set tiebreaker when he led it 7-6. However Medvedev erased that with a 122 mph ace and finally transformed his third set level at a bit previous 1 a.m., then simply pushed issues to the fifth set.
Medvedev was penalized a degree within the third set whereas displaying the identical types of indicators of frustration that led him to destroy a tiny digital camera hanging within the internet by smacking it along with his racket throughout a surprisingly tough, five-set, first-round win towards an opponent ranked 418th.
After getting damaged to path 4-3 within the second set when Tien delivered a lob that landed at a baseline — not the one time he did that to his 6-foot-6 foe — Medvedev chucked his gear towards the sideline, skidding it throughout the courtroom till it reached an promoting panel close to his bench. At different moments of anger, Medvedev hit a ball towards the again wall, toppled a digital camera behind a baseline and punched his racket bag. He additionally voiced displeasure about being referred to as for 2 consecutive foot-faults, leading to a double fault, through the second-set tiebreaker.
This was Medvedev’s first match of the season — his spouse just lately gave beginning to their second youngster — and he by no means actually displayed his finest tennis. As he typically does, the 28-year-old Russian shifted ways in an try to vary the course of issues, pushing ahead to the web continuously early within the third set.
Some errors by Tien handed over a service break and a 4-3 result in Medvedev in that set. However Tien broke proper again, then held for a 5-4 edge after Medvedev obtained docked a degree.
Tien reached two junior Grand Slam singles finals in 2023, on the Australian Open and US Open, and performed one semester of school tennis at Southern California earlier than turning professional that yr.
He simply turned 19 final month, and now’s the youngest man from america to get this far on the Australian Open since an 18-year-old Sampras reached the fourth spherical in 1990. Sampras gained the US Open later that yr for the primary of his 14 Grand Slam titles, a complete that ranks fourth amongst males in tennis historical past. Tien and Alex Michelsen are the primary pair of American males 20 or youthful to advance to the third spherical at a significant since 2003, and the primary on the Australian Open since 1990.
The Tien-Medvedev match was the newest vital end result for a teen in Melbourne this yr.
Tien joined Joao Fonseca of Brazil and Martin Landaluce of Spain as the primary trio of youngsters to qualify for the lads’s bracket at a significant since Wimbledon in 2017. After which Fonseca, who beat No. 9 Andrey Rublev, and Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, who defeated No. 6 Casper Ruud, grew to become the primary pair of teenagers to beat top-10 males on the identical Grand Slam match since Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray did it at Wimbledon in 2006.
Now Tien makes it three. He referred to as what Fonseca and Mensik did “undoubtedly fairly inspiring.”
Data from The Related Press was used on this report.
