Lerner Tien continues his fine season by reaching the Mexican Open quarter-finals.
The teenager successfully qualified for the Australian Open and Tien defeated Daniil Medvedev on the way to reaching the fourth round.
Now he is making a strong run in Acapulco and has secured his second top 10 win of the season after ousting Alexander Zverev.
Since finishing runner-up at the Next Gen ATP Finals in December 2024, the American has been gradually improving his game and it remains to be seen what more he can achieve at the Mexican Open and beyond.
Lerner Tien reacts after shock win over Alexander Zverev at Mexican Open
Lerner Tien successfully qualified for the Mexican Open and began the main draw campaign by beating Cam Norrie.
He then took on Zverev for the first time in his career, securing a somewhat routine 6-3, 6-4 victory to ease into the second round.
The American’s consistency proved too much for the top seed to handle as he made some uncharacteristic errors, and squared a 1-4 lead in the second set.
After his one-hour, 28-minute victory, Tien said he did his best to ‘hide’ the nerves he was feeling playing against one of the world’s top players.
“I honestly couldn’t tell you how I did it,” Tien began. “I went out there and tried to control my side of the court. I knew it would be tough. To come through feels great. I’m really looking forward to playing my next one.
“The nerves are definitely there. I try to hide it as much as I can. Sometimes it’s easier than others. Focusing on what I can control and keeping my cool as best as I can has really taken me a long way.”
Lerner Tien breaks record after beating Alexander Zverev at Mexican Open
Tien’s big win means he has now broken an all-time ATP record.
The 19-year-old has become the youngest player to win his first two matches against opponents ranked inside the top five since the inception of the ATP Tour rankings in 1973.
He is also the second American player to do this after eight-time Grand Slam champion Jimmy Connors.
Tien will look to continue his fine run when he takes on the dangerous Tomas Machac in the Mexican Open quarter-finals.
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