Learner Tien, a Vietnamese-American player, had an excellent match when defeating Daniil Medvedev with a score of 3-0 (6-4, 6-0, 6-3) in the 4th round of the Australian Open 2026.
Medvedev entered the match in 2026 with an unbeaten record, after winning the title in Brisbane. But Tien – who has a record against Medvedev with a score of 3-1, including the dramatic five-set match at Melbourne Park in 2025 – took control with incredible confidence and determination.
The American player won a break right in the first game of the match. Apart from a slight interruption due to nosebleeds a few minutes later, this player made almost no mistakes.
Tien's discipline from the last line of the court was clearly shown. He only made 16 unforced errors compared to Medvedev's 30, launched more than 18 points-winning shots and successfully utilized 70% of the chances to break points against the player who reached the Australian Open final three times.
The American player has done that with many different playing techniques, combining powerful, straight serves with sharp attacking angles, and using high and heavy left-handed shots to neutralize Medvedev's speed.
Patient throughout the ball phases, Tien waited for opportunities before launching beautiful points-winning shots, combined with gentle, skillful drops, reminiscent of Carlos Alcaraz's techniques.
Learner Tien did not give Medvedev any chances from the end of set 1, defeating his opponent with a score of 6-0 in set 2. This is the first time Medvedev has lost 0-6 in a Grand Slam tournament after 451 sets.
Sharing after the match, Medvedev convinced his opponent: "I am trying to find out what I can do to somewhat disrupt his current form.
Tien played very well, extremely fiercely. Even when I played well, he still responded with better shots.
Today I didn't find many solutions on the field, this is quite rare, and I have never felt that many times in my life... Tien had an excellent match, every shot was on target".
With the victory over Medvedev, Tien became the youngest player to reach the men's singles quarter-finals of the Australian Open since Nick Kyrgios in 2015, and the youngest American player to reach the men's singles quarter-finals of the Grand Slam for the first time since Andy Roddick at the US Open in 2001.
He also joined the group of American male players including Roddick, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, becoming the fourth person since 2000 to reach the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam before the age of 21.
It feels great. It's special to do this, especially here, where returning to play every year is very meaningful to me. This is a big goal for me, and I am really happy," Tien said after the match.
In the quarterfinals, Learner Tien will meet Alexander Zverev - runner-up of the Australian Open 2025.
