Daniil Medvedev lost to Learner Tien in a five-set thriller 12 months ago.
The Russian star fought back from two sets to love down, but came up short in a deciding fifth set, as Tien defeated Medvedev, 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 1-6, 7-6.
They will meet again at this year’s Australian Open, in the fourth round.
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During his latest press conference, Medvedev shared his thoughts on Tien ahead of their Australian Open rematch.
Daniil Medvedev admits he doesn’t like playing Learner Tien
Medvedev knew that Tien was waiting for him in the fourth round, as he struggled against Fabian Marozsan.
“During the match, they showed the scores. Usually, I don’t look at the TVs. This time I glimpsed. This moment, they were, like, [Learner] Tien three sets. I thought, okay. And I was two sets to love down,” he said.
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“If I win this one, it’s going to be five sets. It’s going to be very tough, and then I have Learner. But it’s okay.
“The most important, as I said, is to win this match. Then the next one is Learner.”
2026 Australian Open – 3R
- Learner Tien defeated Nuno Borges, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 (2 hours, 4 minutes)
- Daniil Medvedev defeated Fabian Marozsan, 6-7, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 (3 hours, 43 minutes)
Medvedev then admitted that he doesn’t like playing Tien, but also suggested the American may feel the same way about him.
“The thing is that I kind of don’t like to play him, but he must hate to play me as well,” he said.
“All our matches, I was serving for the match or something.
Daniil Medvedev and Learner Tien’s head-to-head record
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2025 Shanghai Masters – 4R | Daniil Medvedev | Learner Tien | 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 |
| 2025 China Open – SF | Learner Tien | Daniil Medvedev | 5-7, 7-5, 4-0 (RET) |
| 2025 Australian Open – 2R | Learner Tien | Daniil Medvedev | 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 1-6, 7-6 |
“It’s long, brutal rallies, etc.
“I’m going to enjoy it. There’s going to be a lot of shot-making, a lot of good defence from both of us, some passing shots, etc.
“I’m going to try to enjoy the game of tennis. Of course, try to do my best to maybe surprise him somewhere.”
Medvedev proceeded to compliment Tien on his game, which has powered him into the world’s top 30.
“I would say it’s going to sound a little bit easy, but the baseline game. His serve, even if for sure he’s going to improve, and can he serve well, but it’s not like [Giovanni] Mpetshi Perricard’s serve. You can return it,” he said.
“With all this being so young, not yet experienced on tour, he made the top 30 last year.
“It’s unbelievable because he can play really, really well from the baseline.
“As I say, let’s put it this way, I didn’t enjoy our matches last year in terms of how tough it was, and he beat me two times in brutal matches.
“But I beat him last time.
“So now I know who he is. I know how he plays. He knows how I play. We pretty much know what we are going to do already.
“I’m going to really try to enjoy playing against a very strong opponent that is probably going to be very good in the future.”
Tien certainly has a bright future in tennis, as he continues to impress down under.
Learner Tien previews Daniil Medvedev rematch
We’ve heard a lot from Medvedev, but what does Tien think about his developing rivalry with the 2021 US Open champion?
“Yeah, I mean, we’ve played three times. I mean, all of them have been wars. I think he served for the match all three times,” said Tien during his latest press conference.
“I think we both make a lot of balls. We both don’t give up too many free points. I think naturally that makes the rallies very long, games very long.
“We both don’t make it easy on our opponents. So, naturally, we’re not making it easy on each other. We both have to work very hard for points and games.
“I think matches just kind of drag out. Yeah, I mean, I feel like that’s the easiest way to put it.”
Only time will tell who will emerge victorious when they meet again at the Australian Open.
Medvedev and Tien will face off in the fourth round on Sunday, January 25.
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