Learner Tien, a 19-year-old from California, toppled the world No. 5, Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open in the third round.
Tien is the youngest American man to make it this far at a major in nearly two decades.
The match lasted for four hours and 49 minutes, and Tien beat the world’s fifth-ranked player, Daniil Medvedev, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 1-6, 7-6(7).
His victory made him the youngest American man to reach the third round at a Grand Slam tournament since Donald Young at the 2007 U.S. Open. Tien is also the first American teenager to beat a top-five player at a major since Pete Sampras in 1990.
Relying on a highly accurate first serve and his willingness to grind on every point, Tien took a 2-0 lead. In the third game, he had a match point, but Medvedev clawed his way back into the match.
Before Tien beat Medvedev, there had already been upset victories by Brazil’s João Fonseca (18) over No. 9-seed Andrey Rublev, and the Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik (19) over No. 6-seed Casper Ruud. This year’s Australian Open is just the third Grand Slam event to see three teenagers knock off Top10 players since 1973.
Tien’s win was the sixth-latest finish of a major match in men’s tennis history.
[Photo: Eurosport/Facebook]