Teen Tien highlights American charge into Australian Open fourth round




MELBOURNE :Teenage qualifier Learner Tien became the youngest man to reach the Australian Open fourth round in 20 years as the future of American tennis lit up Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Not two months after his 19th birthday, world number 121 Tien beat an ailing Corentin Moutet 7-6(10) 6-3 6-3 in Kia Arena to continue his brilliant debut at the year's first Grand Slam.
Tien's victory made him the youngest man into the fourth round since an 18-year-old Rafa Nadal, a fellow left-hander, in 2005.
The Vietnamese-American will play unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego for a place in the quarter-finals.
He advanced hours after his training buddy and fellow southern Californian Alex Michelsen cruised into the fourth round with a 6-3 7-6(5) 6-2 win over 2023 semi-finalist Karen Khachanov, the 19th seed, in John Cain Arena.
Tien and 20-year-old Michelsen play the popular online video game Fortnite with each other in their downtime and have been laying waste to the seeds in Australia.
Michelsen knocked 11th seed and 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the first round before fellow Orange County native Tien pulled off the upset of the tournament by beating last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev in five sets in the second round.
"Honestly, it feels pretty crazy to be in the second week," Tien told reporters.
"Going through Qs (qualifiers) I've been here for a couple weeks already.
"I mean, I was down a set and a break first round of qualies."
Michelsen said he could take "1 per cent" of the credit for Tien's Medvedev upset because the pair had put in a big off-season together.
"A couple of years ago, never thought I'd be a pro," Michelsen told reporters after setting up a fourth-round clash against Australian number one Alex De Minaur.
"But at the same time I feel like I've put in so much work the last three, four years. I've been grinding every single day.
"My whole childhood, I'd always watch tennis and think, 'Oh, that's sick, these guys are playing in the best stadiums around the world'.
"I never really considered that an option for that to be me."
Michelsen became the youngest American to claim multiple top-20 wins at a Grand Slam since Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi at the 1990 U.S. Open.
By the end of Saturday's day session, Americans had locked down a quarter of the men's fourth-round field, with left-hander Ben Shelton also advancing with a 6-3 3-6 6-4 7-6(5) win over Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in John Cain Arena.
"This has been my lucky court," the shaggy-haired Shelton said after his first win against Musetti following two prior defeats.
"We say on Tour if someone beats you three times in a row, they’re your daddy, so I was fighting to not let that happen."
The 22-year-old Floridian, a surprise quarter-finalist in 2022 in just his second Grand Slam, will next play the oldest man left in the draw - 38-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils.
Tommy Paul was first among the Americans through to the fourth round with victory over Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena on Friday.
Paul, who beat Shelton in the 2022 quarter-finals, will meet another Spaniard in Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
There had been hope the United States might have five through to the men's fourth round for the first time at a Grand Slam since the 1995 U.S. Open.
However, the evergreen Monfils stunned fourth seed and U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz in four sets in Margaret Court Arena earlier on Saturday.
World number one Jannik Sinner also sent American Marcos Giron out in straight sets in the evening session in Rod Laver Arena.