Learner Tien is impressing at this year’s Australian Open, with the American star now through to the last eight.
At 20 years of age, Tien became the youngest American man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since Andy Roddick in 2001, beating Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round.
The Next Gen ATP Finals champion dominated Medvedev in straight sets and handed the Russian his first-ever bagel at a major, 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.
Tien will now face Alexander Zverev for a place in the semifinals at Melbourne Park, as the German continues his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title.
Ahead of their clash, Zverev had high praise for the young star after finding out he handed Medvedev a heavy defeat.
Alexander Zverev discusses Learner Tien’s victory
In a press conference, the world number three said: “Yeah, Learner had success against Daniil before. I thought it was going to be, like, a tough match, like, battle, each set.
“I mean, obviously I was playing the same time, so I didn’t watch much of the match, so maybe you can tell me more, but I didn’t expect it to be that one-sided, of course.
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“I don’t know what happened, I don’t know how the match went, whether Learner just played amazing, maybe Daniil was feeling the match before a little bit still? I don’t know.
“But I’m going to rewatch it for sure and see what happened there. But Learner is a great player. He’s very, very young, up and coming.
“I have massive respect for him. He’s very under the radar, also. He’s the same age as some other young guys and they are talked about more, but I think he’s the one that performs right now. I have huge respect for him and the work he’s doing.”
Learner Tien looks ahead to the match with Alexander Zverev
The head-to-head between Zverev and Tien is tied one apiece, with the Olympic gold medalist losing their first match in Acapulco last year, before opening his account in the rivalry at Roland Garros.
“The first time we played, I doubt he was playing close to his best,” said Tien in his press conference after beating Medvedev.
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“But still, I mean, still take confidence from that match. [The] second time we played in Paris, it was much more convincing for him. I don’t think I broke him during the whole match.
“Obviously, I was on clay, it was a little bit different, but I mean, I think we’ve both come a decent way from the last time we played, and so, you know, I think he’s probably playing a lot better than he was maybe the first time we played. So I think it will be interesting.”
The two will now do battle at a hard court Grand Slam for the very first time, with the winner set to face either Carlos Alcaraz or Alex de Minaur in the semifinals.
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