Learner Tien highlights what Jannik Sinner did which was ‘really tough’ to deal with during the China Open final

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Learner Tien enjoyed the best week of his career in Beijing, but failed in his bid to win the title.

The young American secured wins over Francisco Cerundolo, Flavio Cobolli, and Lorenzo Musetti en route to the China Open semifinals.

There, Tien defeated Daniil Medvedev in three sets, 5-7, 7-5, 4-0 (RET) to advance to his maiden ATP Tour final.

Unfortunately for Tien, the world number two Jannik Sinner stood between him and the title.

In straight sets, Tien lost to Sinner 6-2, 6-2, as the Italian reclaimed the title he won back in 2023.

Reacting to his defeat, the 19-year-old shared what Sinner did during the match, which he found tough to deal with.

Learner Tien struggled with the pressure Jannik Sinner applied ‘point-to-point’

During his post-match press conference, Tien reflected on his first career meeting with the four-time Grand Slam winner.

“It was a tough, tough match. I feel like the couple of service games, my return games, his service games that I was kind of in, he was able to serve his way out of. I thought he served well today. Just getting a lot of free points on his serve. I couldn’t really get a great read on his serve,” he said.

“Return games were just pretty tough for me in general today. I think that put a lot more pressure on my service games, because I wasn’t really making a lot of leeway on his service games. There was just that added pressure of being unsure if I was going to really be able to make a push in his service games. I really had to take care of my own.

“I just think the pressure he puts on you point to point is really tough.”

Sinner did, indeed, score plenty of ‘free points’ on his serve, as he made ten aces during the final.

Tien, on the other hand, failed to make one, but did serve six double faults on his way to defeat.

The American may well be disappointed with the defeat, but shouldn’t be too hard on himself, after all, only two players have managed to beat Sinner in 2025.

Jannik Sinner’s 2025 defeats

• 2025 Italian Open F vs Carlos Alcaraz
• 2025 French Open F vs Carlos Alcaraz
• 2025 Halle Open 2R vs Alexander Bublik
• 2025 Cincinnati Open F vs Carlos Alcaraz
• 2025 US Open F vs Carlos Alcaraz

Qualifying for his maiden tour-level final, Tien is set to make a big jump up the rankings, moving one step closer to being seeded at the 2026 Australian Open.

Learner Tien set for top-40 debut after China Open

Tien will be the new world number 36 when the next set of rankings are released.

Tien now trails Brandon Nakashima, the player occupying the final seeded spot (for Grand Slams), by just 167 points.

A gap he’ll be looking to close down when he returns to action at the Shanghai Masters later this week.

Tien will begin his Shanghai Masters campaign on Friday, October 3, against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.