Courtesy: Google/ATP
American tennis player Learner Tien caused a massive upset in the round of 16 of the Mexican Open at the Arena GNP Seguros, defeating world number two Alexander Zverev of Germany in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. With that, the 19-year-old became the youngest player from the USA to register a win against a top-three player on the ATP World Rankings after Andy Roddick achieved the feat way back in 2001.
Notably, during the contest which lasted for one-hour and 28 minutes, the teenager displayed great consistency and used his left-handed game to its absolute precision, to force Alexander Zverev into making some uncharacteristic errors. Learner Tien also made the German miss a simple overhead volley while being on break point in the first set at 3-4, following which, he won five straight games in second set, to secure his passage through to the quarter-finals of the Mexican Open.
To come through feels great: Leaner Tien after defeating Alexander Zverev
Following a comprehensive victory, Learner Tien spoke about how it felt great for him to register a win against such a tough opponent. He was quoted as saying, as per ATP Tour website, “I just went out there and tried to control my side of the court. Obviously I knew it was going to be a tough match. To come through feels great... I think just focussing on what I can control and keeping my cool as best as I can has really taken me a long way.”
After making it through to his second quarter-finals on the ATP World Tour, Learner Tien has jumped to 68th place in the live rankings, as of this writing. Later tonight, the American will be taking on the eighth seed Tomas Machac of Czechia in the quarter-finals of the Mexican Open, and a win could lead the former Australian Open and the US Open junior finalist from 2023 a step closer to his first career title.
