At Indian Wells, Learner Tien walks out to an excited home crowd to face the world#2 and four-time grand slam champion Jannik Sinner. This year marks the first time that Tien has played in the breezy Californian desert with an element of expectation on his back. Since breaking into the top 30 at just twenty years old, lifting the Next Gen Finals title, plus securing big-name wins against Lorenzo Musetti, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev (albeit one was before last year’s event), the youngster has made a name for himself.
Learner Tien Routed by Jannik Sinner
A Positive Run
Any moderate expectations would have been considerably amplified after a terrific win against Ben Shelton. In an all-lefty affair, Tien secured the first set with a tiebreak. Having won his opening match against Adam Walton 7-6 7-6, he was showing terrific pressure point play, securing three in a row. Although, as expected Shelton fought back, winning the second set 6-4 and forcing a decider. Admittedly, the 23-year-old looked a little jaded and Tien took advantage, winning 6-3.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was next in the pipeline and the Spaniard took the opening set 6-4 following a really solid display. However, Tien completely changed the momentum, taking the second set 6-1. In the third set and serving 4-5 down, Tien had to save two match points, taking the game to another tiebreak. You guessed it, once again he came out on top, winning 7-4 and showing terrific bottle.
So, when the Sinner match came around, there was considerable buzz. Make no mistake, the Italian went in as heavy favourite but especially after Joao Fonseca ran Sinner close, losing 7-6 7-6, there was a real interest to see how Tien would fare. It was another test in his development. However, after just over an hour, Tien was already packing his bags. With just three games in the bag, his quarterfinal came to a close.
A New Big Three?
With the recent dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner, the topic of conversation has become who will be able to challenge them? Names like Jakub Mensik, Arthur Fils and Joao Fonseca have been thrown around, none more than the latter. So many, particularly online, felt that such a comprehensive defeat for Tien was evidence that he would not have the same career as the others mentioned, or at least the same performance ceiling.
So, is that fair? Firstly, it’s important to contextualise the relative game styles. Fonseca is a more explosive player. His one shot power, particularly on the forehand side, is already matched by just a few. Particularly on a hard court, it’s almost impossible to get the upper hand against Sinner. Very few can manage. Extreme power and accuracy are necessary. On a good day, Fonseca can channel these two elements, which is why he was able to trouble Sinner.
Deviating From The Comfortable
Yet, Tien ultimately doesn’t have the same weapons. His strengths come from the ability to redirect and take the ball early as well as exceptional shot selection. Against so many players, this can be enough. He can pick apart weaknesses, forcing opponents to play in a way that doesn’t suit their natural instincts. Moreover, his consistency allows him to do this and wear down his counterpart. Therefore, he has proved a reliable outfit for the games he is expected to win.
Conversely, against Sinner, he seemed a little lost. It was always going to be a tough ask. Should he stay with what he’s best at and hope Sinner has an off day, or play a more aggressive high-risk game, when that doesn’t bring the best version of himself? As the match began to escape from him, he opted for the latter and made 28 unforced errors in all.
Despite such a one sided defeat, Sinner was positive in his reviews of Tien’s game:
“I saw that he has improved a lot and he is going to be very tough to beat in the future. He has had some great results, especially this year. Early on in the year he is a very consistent player and also lefty, which we don’t have many, so this is going to be very, very good for him in the future.”
Ultimately, setbacks happen and it’s important as a tennis community not to read too much into one sole result. For Tien, he must focus on getting back on the hamster wheel and making a positive run in Miami.
Main photo credit: Taya Gray/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
