MELBOURNE, Australia — Learner Tien is the youngest player to reach the men’s singles quarterfinals at the Australian Open in 11 years. He’s the youngest American to make it that far in men’s singles at any Grand Slam tournament since 2002.
And he didn’t have to go the distance again with three-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev to get there.
The 20-year-old from Southern California beat Medvedev 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 on Sunday, a year after Tien needed five sets to pull off his second-round upset of the 2021 U.S. Open champion.
“Feels amazing. So special to do it, especially here,” Tien said. “This is a big goal for me this year. I’m just super happy.”
Tien’s breakthrough run in major competition ended when he lost in the fourth round last year. He has already gone one better, becoming the youngest man since Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in 2015 to make it to the last eight in singles at Melbourne Park. And he’s the youngest American to do so at a major since Andy Roddick at the 2002 U.S. Open.
“I feel like I have a lot more experience now,” Tien said, comparing victories in Australia. “I mean, I have only had a year since then, but that’s a lot more than I had then.”
He still lives at home with his parents when he’s not away on tour, but now he has 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang working with his coaching team. Not that he needs a lot of encouragement from the International Tennis Hall of Fame player.
“I always just tell him if there is something, like, blatantly obvious that I’m missing, feel free to shout at me,” Tien said. “If you can’t get my attention, feel free to do whatever it takes to get me to notice what you’re trying to tell me.
“I feel like usually I’m pretty attentive on things going on in the match … but sometimes there are just some things that in the heat of the moment I miss, so it’s nice to have someone there that will just remind me.”
The next opponent for Tien, who is seeded 25th, is No. 3 Alexander Zverev, who was the runner-up in Melbourne last year, when he made his third appearance in a Grand Slam final after also getting that far at the 2020 U.S. Open and the 2024 French Open. The 28-year-old German star advanced to the quarterfinals this time by beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, 6-4, his first straight-sets win in this year’s tournament.
“I was able to get him the first time we played. The second time, he beat me pretty bad,” Tien said of Zverev. “He plays great tennis here, he’s the defending finalist. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Tien had a nosebleed and needed a medical timeout for tissues and treatment early against No. 11 Medvedev, causing a seven-minute pause in the match. It didn’t slow Tien down.
“Yeah, I mean, came out very well. My nose started bleeding in the third game. I was really hoping that I wouldn’t come back out cold and, you know, be a little bit thrown off by it,” he said. “Thankfully, I was able to keep my momentum going.”
He doesn’t think the bleed is anything too serious, or regular, attributing it to Melbourne’s dry summer air.
Tien had the bulk of the crowd in Margaret Court Arena on his side, including dozens of fans wearing what are known locally as “L Plates” — signs that are mandatory for learner drivers and have a black “L” printed on a yellow background.
“Every year since I’ve been coming here, the crowd support is amazing,” he said. “I don’t know why.”
On a momentum-seizing roll, Tien had Medvedev so rattled the 29-year-old Russian tried to mix things up, including attempting an underarm serve.
“He played great, super aggressive,” Medvedev said. “Even when I was making good shots, he was making a better shot back. He had, like, an unbelievable match where everything went in.”