Learner Tien hit seven more aces than Ben Shelton in their match at Indian Wells.
Tien’s serve has previously been highlighted as a weakness, despite his impressive rise up the rankings over the past year.
This is in stark contrast with Shelton, who is one of the best servers on the ATP Tour right now.
However, it was actually Tien who hit more aces against Shelton in his 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 victory.
Learner Tien ‘happy’ with improvements he has made on his serve
Tien hit 15 aces against Shelton, who was clearly feeling under the weather in his defeat to his younger compatriot.
When asked about this in his post-match press conference, Tien explained that he was pleased with the improvements he had made in his serve, but admitted that there were still some improvements he wanted to make after hitting 10 faults as well.
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“I think just this match in particular, I felt like, obviously, physically he wasn’t feeling amazing, so he was probably trying to keep points short, trying to take big swings, big cuts off of my serve,” said Tien.
“I was going for a good bit, maybe a little bit more than usual, especially on some of the second serves, just because I felt the pressure a little bit of him taking some pretty big cuts at the ball.
“In general, I think my serve has improved. Obviously there were some moments where I still feel like I can get much better, but I’m happy with how it’s progressed, and I’m definitely seeing a lot more free points, I’d say, off of it.”
It was not just aces where Tien bettered Shelton in their match at Indian Wells, as he also had a higher first serve percentage, and won a greater number of points on his first serve.
| Indian Wells 2026 Third Round | Learner Tien | Ben Shelton |
| Aces | 15 | 8 |
| Double Faults | 10 | 3 |
| First Serve % | 67% | 63% |
| First Serve Win % | 82% | 71% |
| Second Serve Win % | 51% | 62% |
| Games Broken | 1 | 1 |
Learner Tien responds when asked which players have influenced his game
Tien is currently coached by former French Open champion Michael Chang, and he was asked if any other tennis players had influenced his game.
Although he did not name any names, Tien suggested that he has taken attributes of other players’ games throughout his career.
“I wouldn’t really say there was, like, one guy I tried to mold myself after,” responded Tien. “I know I personally have no ego issues when it comes to picking and stealing things from other people’s games that I think are better than the shots that I hit.
“So I think that’s been great for me. You know, when I was growing up, my coaches would pick and choose random shots from certain players. I’d just execute that shot very well and try to apply it to me.”
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Tien will be hoping that both his serve and the rest of his game are firing for his fourth round match at Indian Wells, where he will play Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
This will be a second meeting between the two players, with Davidovich Fokina winning their only previous match at the Washington Open last year.
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