Learner Tien makes American tennis history after beating Ben Shelton in Mallorca

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Learner Tien continues to impress on the ATP Tour, having just defeated fellow American Ben Shelton in Mallorca.

Tien has impressed Daniil Medvedev, after the former beat the latter in the second round of the 2025 Australian Open.

The American ATP ace finally fell in the fourth round in Melbourne, failing to repeat those heroics at the French Open.

Tien fell to third seed Alexander Zverev in round one, but now finds himself in the quarter-finals of the Mallorca Championships after knocking out Shelton.

The 19-year-old beat Justin Engel in the round of 32, and followed that up with a 6-4, 7-6(7-2) win over top seed Shelton in the round of 16.

Learner Tien makes American history with Mallorca win over Ben Shelton

And it is significant for the teenager for more reasons than one, with Tien having now clinched three top 10 wins this season.

In Acapulco in February, the American knocked out Zverev before eventually falling in the quarter-finals to Tomas Machac.

READ MORE: Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz agree over the current state of American tennis

Moreover, he has now become the youngest ever American to beat a top 10 player on grass after defeating Shelton in Mallorca.

Worrying Ben Shelton trend emerges ahead of Wimbledon

Shelton was undoubtedly the favourite to come out on top in the clash between the two Americans at the ATP 250 event in Spain.

The Mallorca top seed has just climbed into the ATP top 10 for the first time in his career, while Tien is ranked 67th, one spot below his career-high.

READ MORE: The next most likely American to win a Grand Slam following Ben Shelton’s top 10 debut

Shelton has joined fellow Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the top 10, providing a real boost for the nation heading into Wimbledon.

But somewhat worryingly for the new face on the list, Shelton now has a 0-2 win-loss record as a top 10 player.

Moreover, he enters Wimbledon with three successive losses, with his defeat in Mallorca coming after losses at the Boss Open and Queen’s.

Former world number one Jimmy Connors thinks Paul is America’s Wimbledon hopeful, but plenty of pressure will be on all three players to really impress.

Such pressure will only increase as the wait for an American men’s Grand Slam champion continues, with the last such triumph coming from Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.