Rising American tennis star Learner Tien accomplished a career first in dramatic fashion. He won a match after saving two match points against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Tien, 20, is a Southern Californian and the home crowd celebrated with him as he advanced to his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal after an over two hour three set tug of war.
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The left hander maintained a steely composure in tight situations. His game has soared since he joined forces with the 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang who is his coach.
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Tien showed maturity beyond his years
Learner Tien showed great reslience, and Davidovich Fokina has what Tennis Channel’s Jim Courier called “scar tissue” from losing matches after having match points. It has occurred numerous times in his career.
Davidovich Fokina served well throughout the match; however, his first serve started to fail him in the third set. That could have been attributed to Tien changing his return position often creating confusion for the Spaniard.
Learner Tien prepares to hit tennis balls to fans after defeating Ben Shelton on Stadium 1 during their BNP Paribas Open third-round match in Indian Wells, Calif., on March 8, 2026.
Tien, who defeated an ailing Ben Shelton in his previous round match, grew up in Irvine, California, about an hour away from Indian Wells. It has been four years since an American man won this tournament, and that was fellow Californian Taylor Fritz.
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Alex Michelsen, 21, another Californian, took out Fritz, and he and Tien, good friends and childhood rivals, represent the next generation of American men’s tennis players.
Michelsen is facing Daniil Medvedev in a Round of 16 match later on Tuesday night.
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