One year later in Melbourne, Learner Tien will face Daniil Medvedev again — this time as a contender

Learner Tien has reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for the second year in a row—and for the second straight year, he’ll face former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.

Last year, the American made a major statement when he took out three-time finalist Medvedev in Melbourne, becoming the youngest man to reach the fourth round here since Rafael Nadal in 2005.

Read More: Learner Tien wins Metz, becomes first American teenager to win an ATP title since Andy Roddick

On Friday, Tien defeated Nuno Borges in straight sets, 7-6 (9), 6-4, 6-2, to book the rematch—a fitting challenge one year later, and with significantly more tour experience under his belt.

“I think just getting to play more matches at this level has been really big for me,” Tien told press after win over Borges.

“In general, I feel like everything has gotten a bit better. I think I'm more mature of a player. I think I handle a lot of these matches a lot better.”

This time last year, Tien was a teenage qualifier playing his first Grand Slam main draw outside of the U.S. In the second round, he stunned Medvedev, then the No. 5 seed and a three-time Australian Open finalist, in a five-set thriller, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (8), 1-6, 7-6 (10-7).

Read More: The future of tennis? We watched Tien upset Medvedev on the Australian Open’s AO Animated livestream to find out

One year later, No. 25 Tien is seeded at a major for the first time. He owns an ATP 250 title, is ranked inside the Top 30, and continues to rise quickly with former world No. 2 Michael Chang on his coaching team since August 2025.

Former Roland Garros champion Chang, who previously coached Kei Nishikori, was drawn to their similarities both talented Asian Americans from Southern California who share the same faith and were also standout juniors.

“I think he’s actually more gifted than I am, as far as shot making,” Chang told Ben Rothenberg of Bounces during AO. “He’s much better around various parts of the court. But I feel like, in certain aspects, maybe I’m able to share some of my experiences that he has yet to attain—and hopefully will attain…

“It’s been fun to see him progress and improve as much as he has.”

Since bringing Chang on to work alongside coach Erik Kortland, Tien has surged up the ATP rankings, won his first tour-level title in Metz and finished the season with a Next Gen Finals victory.

He has big ambitions and is eager to maintain momentum as he helps lead an incoming generation of young pros—including Jakub Mensik and Joao Fonseca—who are looking to establish themselves as the newest force on tour.

“There's a lot of things in my game that can still get better, so that's my biggest focus,” Tien said.

“I've always just thought if I just focus and work on the things that need work, that the results, the ranking, all that will come.”

Tien leads the head-to-head against Medvedev 2-1. After their Australian Open meeting last year, Tien won via retirement in Beijing while leading 5-7, 7-5, 4-0, before Medvedev claimed revenge in Shanghai, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 6-4.

No. 11 seed Medvedev enters the matchup on an eight-match winning streak to start the year, a run that includes an ATP 250 title in Brisbane.