Carlos Alcaraz admits what really ‘surprised’ him about Learner Tien after watching him beat Daniil Medvedev

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Carlos Alcaraz has done his utmost to avoid an Australian Open upset, but the same cannot be said of Daniil Medvedev after his shock loss to Learner Tien.

Medvedev was booed by the Australian Open crowd during his opening match against Kasidit Samrej, where he narrowly scraped through after five sets.

And ATP number five Medvedev endured another five-set battle in round two of the Australian Open, but this time he failed to come out on top.

John McEnroe thinks Tien will be a ‘formidable force’, with the 19-year-old beating the three-time finalist and fifth seed 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 1-6, 7-6(10-7).

Tien’s stunning win came after two huge shocks in Melbourne, beginning with his fellow NextGen ATP star Joao Fonseca defeating Andrey Rublev in round one.

Carlos Alcaraz ‘surprised’ by Learner Tien’s level after Australian Open win over Daniil Medvedev

And then Jakub Mensik, another youngster from the 20-and-under tournament in Jeddah last month, beat Casper Ruud in round two.

Tien is now the last of the trio standing, with four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz having shared his thoughts on the youngsters and indeed if he has any advice for them.

And having won the US Open as a 19-year-old, the Spaniard was also initially asked in his latest press conference if that success once seemed impossible at such a young age.

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“Well, I’m going to start with the second question,” he said. “I have seen those players. I have seen the level that they have.

“I didn’t watch too much about Tien, for example, but I watched a little bit last night, and it was incredible. I was surprised a little bit about his level.

“I don’t know, I mean, which ranking they are going to reach, they’re going to get, but they have a lot of potential. I mean, I’m talking like I’m 30 years old. I mean, I’m just two years older than them.

“What advice? Not beat me, I guess. I don’t know. I see them, you know, capable of beating anyone, including myself.

“So, I mean, they have the level. They are getting the experience in every tournament they play. Last night we saw Tien beating Medvedev here in Australia in five sets, which was amazing.

“Fonseca playing his first five-sets match yesterday, as well. So they are getting experience. As much as they are getting experience, they’re going to become even more dangerous. Let’s see in the future.”

Learner Tien, Joao Fonseca and Jakub Mensik clinch Australian Open top 10 wins

Alcaraz is perhaps the inspiration for the latest group of very talented youngsters to be breaking through, having already won a stunning four Grand Slam titles aged just 21.

His first came at the 2022 US Open, where the Spaniard overcame Casper Ruud to debut as world number one.

READ MORE: Where Roger Federer, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner finished in the rankings after their debut ATP seasons as Joao Fonseca makes waves

Grand Slam is unlikely to be on the minds of the likes of Fonseca, Mensik and Tien at this stage of their careers, with simply winning matches and gaining experience the likely goals.

Tien now faces Corentin Moutet in round three of the Australian Open, with Fonseca and Mensik having suffered second and third round exits respectively.

They did, however, only just fall short in progressing, losing in five sets to Lorenzo Sonego and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina respectively.

But all three can hold their heads extremely high after clinching top 10 wins in Melbourne, beating world number five Medvedev, number six Ruud and number nine Rublev.