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Learner Tien, a 19-year-old qualifier from California, became the youngest American man to reach the Australian Open’s third round since Pete Sampras in 1990, upsetting a racket-tossing Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 1-6, 7-6 in a thrilling contest that began on Thursday night and ended in the wee hours of Friday in Melbourne.
The four-hour, 49-minute match had a bit of everything, including a six-minute rain delay that interrupted play shortly before 2.30am with Tien serving at 5-5 in the fifth set. When play resumed, Medvedev broke and served for the match at 6-5, but Tien refused to cede, broke back, and forced the concluding first-to-10 tiebreaker, which he emerged to win shortly before 3am. His victory came about two hours after he had failed to convert his initial match point.
The outcome was eyebrow-raising because of the wide gulf in experience and accomplishments between the two players on Margaret Court Arena. Tien is the world No 121 and owned a career grand slam record of 0-3 before this week; Medvedev was seeded No 5, won the 2021 US Open and was the runner-up at Melbourne Park in three of the past four years, including 12 months ago.
“I was definitely hoping it wouldn’t go to a fifth-set ‘breaker ... It was definitely harder than maybe it could have been, but, whatever,” Tien said, then told the crowd: “I really appreciate all you guys staying out here. I know it’s late. I have no idea what time it is.”
Because of the time difference, the match ended at about 8am on Thursday morning back home in Tien’s home of California, and he took the microphone to speak directly to his family.
“I don’t know if my parents are still watching. ... I love you guys. Thank you for always supporting me from across the world,” Tien said. “I know you guys wish you could be here. I wish you could be here, too.”
The left-handed Tien played fearlessly and almost flawlessly for stretches, surprisingly getting the better of lengthy exchanges at the baseline. Across the first two sets, he won 32 of the 51 points that lasted nine or more strokes, even coming out on top on one that went 45 shots and another that lasted 32.
Tien did not blink until he reached the precipice of by far his most important win, holding a match point in the third-set tiebreaker when he led it 7-6. But Medvedev erased that with a 122 mph ace and eventually converted his third set point at a little past 1am, then easily pushed things to the fifth set.
Medvedev was penalized a point in the third set while showing the same sorts of signs of frustration that led him to destroy a net camera with his racket during a surprisingly difficult, five-set, first-round win.
After getting broken to trail 4-3 in the second set when Tien delivered a lob that landed on the baseline – not the only time he did so to his 6ft 6in opponent – Medvedev threw his equipment toward the sideline. At other moments of anger, Medvedev hit a ball against the back wall, toppled a camera and punched his racket bag. He also voiced displeasure about being called for two consecutive foot-faults, resulting in a double-fault, during the second-set tiebreaker.
This was Medvedev’s first tournament of the season – his wife recently gave birth to their second child – and he never displayed his best tennis. As he often does, the 28-year-old Russian shifted tactics in an attempt to change the momentum, pushing forward to the net frequently early in the third set.
Some mistakes by Tien handed over a service break and a 4-3 lead to Medvedev in that set. But Tien broke right back, then held for a 5-4 edge after Medvedev was docked a point.
Tien reached two junior grand slam singles finals in 2023, at the Australian and US Open, and played one semester of college tennis at Southern California before turning pro.
He turned 19 last month, and is the youngest man from the United States to get this far at the Australian Open since an 18-year-old Sampras reached the fourth round in 1990. Sampras won the US Open later that year for the first of his 14 grand slam singles titles.
