Learner Tien caused the biggest upset of the day so far in Indian Wells on Sunday, taking out No. 8 seed Ben Shelton in the third round, 7-6(3) 4-6 6-3. The 20-year-old American has become one of the brightest young stars on the tour over the last year, and now has a 6-5 record against top-10 opposition.
Tien’s first big win against a top player came at last year’s Australian Open when, as a teenage qualifier, he shocked Daniil Medvedev in the second round. Since then, they’ve formed a thrilling rivalry, and Tien now leads their head-to-head 3-1.
The world No. 27 will now join forces with his Russian rival in Indian Wells, as they have entered the doubles tournament together. And Tien immediately wrote a message to Medvedev on the camera lens after taking out Shelton, sharing his excitement for their upcoming team debut. “Time for dubs,” he wrote, adding a smiley face.
California-born Tien is now through to the last 16 in Indian Wells for the first time, and he’ll be hoping to carry that form into the doubles with former world No. 1 Medvedev. After earning his sixth career top-10 win over Shelton, the 20-year-old commended his opponent for battling through despite being unwell.
Shelton is one of several players who picked up a virus this week in Indian Wells, with Matteo Berrettini among those affected. And Tien said: “It’s great, it’s great. I just want to say, Ben came out not feeling 100 per cent. I don’t think he’s been feeling great all week. But he’s an amazing competitor; he came out and gave it his all. I just want to say huge props to him. But I’m super happy to be in the fourth round, especially here it’s super special, and I have dubs this afternoon, so I’m excited.
“Even when he’s not at his best, his serve is still incredible. His serve and forehand were really firing in some moments of the match, and you just never know. Nerves definitely played a role. I feel like I was missing some shots that I usually wouldn’t. My rhythm I think wasn’t fully there in some moments, but I’m happy with how I stayed present and how I stayed present and how I competed.
“I don’t think about rankings when I step on the court. I really believe that any time I step on the court, I have a chance to win. I just go out and compete, and whatever happens, happens.”
Tien is due to take to the Stadium 4 court with Medvedev in a matter of hours as they put their rivalry to one side and team up to take on cousins and top-30 singles stars Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech. Ahead of their exciting doubles link-up, recent Dubai champion Medvedev said Tien had one of the highest ‘tennis IQs’ on tour.
“Learner, for sure. Yeah, I played him four times now, and in a way every match was different, but the way he, yeah, he manages to control the court, to control the point to his favour is really impressive. We’re playing doubles tomorrow, but I really like his game and kind of hoping he can do well in his career,” the world No. 11 explained.
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