Teenager Learner Tien schools Daniil Medvedev in late-night Australian Open upset

Daniil Medvedev learned a lesson he won’t soon forget at the Australian Open, courtesy of American teenager Learner Tien.

The 19-year-old held off a what would have been an epic comeback to score the biggest win of his young career, emerging from qualifying to stun the three-time finalist, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (8), 1-6, 7-6 (7) and reach the third round—wrapping up the four-hour, 49-minute victory just before 3AM, local time.

"I know I made it a lot harder than it could have been but, you know, whatever!" the tired American joked on court.

A native of Irvine, California, the left-handed Tien had been a formidable junior, reaching the boy’s singles finals at both the Australian and US Open in 2023—losing the latter to none other than Joao Fonseca, who scored an upset of his own in the first round over No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev.

Tien went on to finish runner-up to Fonseca at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, having defeated all Top 3 seeds in Arthur Fils, Alex Michelsen, and Jakub Mensik along the way. The December result set himself up for a strong start to 2025: after winning three matches in qualifying, he won his first Grand Slam main-draw match over Camilo Ugo Carabelli to draw Medvedev for his highest-profile match yet.

Medvedev has long been a force on hard courts but saw his form dip due to injury in 2024, and made a delayed start to the new season in order to welcome a second child with wife Daria. The rust was evident in his first round, where he rallied from two-sets-to-one down against Thai wild card Kasidit Samrej, and appeared similarly out of sorts early on against Tien.

Tien took full advantage, reeling off five straight games to win the first set and rallied from another break down in the second to win it in a tiebreaker.

Looking to dig his way back into the match, Medvedev moved ahead by another break advantage in the third, threatening a fourth set as the clock ticked past midnight. Undaunted Tien broke back once again and twice stood on the brink of victory in the tenth and twelfth games.

Medvedev gamely held on to force a second tiebreaker and later erased a mini-break deficit to earn his first set point. Tien followed up a 45-shot rally from earlier in the match with another lung-buster to tie the Sudden Death up at six points apiece, slamming a forehand into the open court. Medvedev saved match point two points later and ultimately outrallied Tien on his third set point to force extra innings after 1AM.

I know I made it a lot harder than it could have been but, you know, whatever! Learner Tien

The fourth set saw a deflated Tien, one decidedly out of the "Money, girls, casino" form Medvedev had described after facing an on-fire Samrej, struggle to rediscover the momentum that had taken him to match point. Meanwhile, Medvedev took full advantage to race through the first five games. Tien avoided a bagel set and got on the board but Medvevev was in full flight to move the match into a decider.

"Honestly? In the fourth set, I just had to pee so bad," he admitted after the match, "so I was just trying to finish it up fairly quick, but I also wanted to start the fifth serving. I scrapped out that game at 0-5 and it all worked out!"

Both men upped their level as the fifth set got underway, Tien digging out of a long first game and capitalizing on a poorly-timed double fault from Medvedev to earn the first break.

Medvedev responded with a break of his own, and held firm as the pair brought the match closer to a third and final tiebreaker. Just as the match reached a critical phase, the skies opened up and sent Tien and Medvedev to their chairs to wait out the rain.

Honestly? In the fourth set, I just had to pee so bad, so I was just trying to finish it up fairly quick, but I also wanted to start the fifth serving. I scrapped out that game at 0-5 and it all worked out! Learner Tien

Medvedev came out thundering on the resumption, cracking a forehand winner to earn a pair of break points. Another well-struck forehand put the No. 5 seed ahead, giving him the chance to serve for the match. Three points from defeat, Tien pulled off one last surprise when he landed a forehand winner of his own to reclaim the momentum, break serve and force one last Sudden Death.

After twice exchanging mini-breaks, Tien got on top of the 10-point tiebreaker with a stellar pass, reeling off the final four points of the match to clinch the career victory.

Awaiting Tien in the third round will be France's Corentin Moutet, who will look to defeat a second American qualifier in a row after winning his second round over Mitchell Krueger in four sets.

"I saw a little of his first-round match, not really thinking I would play him in the third round, but obviously I've seen him. I think it'll be a fun match."