Learner Tien proved one of the break-out stars of the season’s first grand slam in Melbourne – and has continued his impressive progress by finishing off the Australian men’s hopes at the Delray Beach Open in the US.
The 19-year-old Californian Tien provided one of the recent Australian Open’s best stories when he outstayed three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in the early hours to win an epic five-setter before going on to become the youngest man since Rafael Nadal to reach the fourth round.
In his first match since that breakthrough, Tien, invited as a wildcard to the hardcourt tournament in Florida, carried on where he’d left off by defeating the in-form Sydneysider Adam Walton 6-4 6-3 in their first-round clash on Wednesday.
Now up to No.82 in the rankings, the teenager largely controlled affairs against the Queenslander Walton, who had been hoping to land his first tour-level win of the season after prevailing in a Challenger tournament in Brisbane at the start of the month.
Walton had started brightly, breaking the youngster’s delivery twice to move into a 4-2 lead in the opening set before Tien reeled off four games in a row to take the stanza.
Dominating Walton’s second serves, the youngster turned the screw in the second set, earning another break to go 4-2 ahead and seal the match in just under an hour-and-a-half.
It meant the four-strong Australian contingent had all departed in the first round of the ATP 250 event. Aleksandar Vukic and Rinky Hijikata were both defeated on Tuesday, while James Duckworth withdrew before his match because of illness.
Tien, a finalist at the 2024 NextGen ATP Finals, will face fourth seed Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the next round.
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