In a stunning upset at the Australian Open, Learner Tien of the U.S. (world ranking 121) defeated world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia in a thrilling five-set match.
The 19-year-old tennis player triumphed 3-2 after an intense 4-hour and 48-minute battle during Thursday's second round of the men’s singles in Melbourne. Tien secured the first two sets, dropped the third and fourth, but triumphed in the fifth set after a tiebreak.
The Vietnamese-American has excelled on the junior circuit, reaching the finals of the 2023 Australian Open Junior and U.S. Open Junior. However, he had not secured a victory in the main draw of an adult major until this tournament. Previously, his only main-draw appearances were at the U.S. Open over the past three years, where he exited in the first round both times. Tien earned his first main-draw win against Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina (94th) in this Australian Open before defeating Medvedev, a three-time Australian Open runner-up.
김정훈 기자 hun@donga.com