Learner Tien reached his first ATP Tour match at the China Open in Beijing after eighth seed Danil Medvedev was forced to retire due to injury in the deciding set.
Tien rallied from 3-5 down in the second set to advance 5-7 7-5 4-0. The Next Gen ATP player set up a final against world number 2 Jannik Sinner, who beat Alex De Minaur 6-3 4-6 6-2 to reach his third consecutive final in Beijing.
Tien was playing her second match against Medvedev. The young US player beat the 2021 US Open champion in a five-set epic match at this year’s Australian Open en route to the round of 16.
Tien broke twice to open up a 3-0 lead in the first set. Medvedev pulled both breaks back to draw level to 4-4 before breaking for the third time in the 12th game to win the first set 7-5.
Medvedev earned an early break in the second game to open up a 3-0 lead in the second set. Tien broke back in the seventh game for 3-4. Both players traded breaks in the eighth and ninth games for 4-5 before Tien held serve at 15 to draw level to 5-5. Tien broke serve at deuce for 6-5 and served out the set 7-5. Medvedev received a medical time-out after the second set, but his movement was compromised. Tien won four straight games before Medvedev withdrew from the match.
Tien crowned a successful season that started with a fourth round at the Autralian Open.
“I was down 2-4 and 3-5 in the second and clawed my way back. I didn’t think anything was wrong with him and then he came out of the bathroom break kind of limping, so I was not sure if he was cramping or if he was injured as he had tape on his leg. I think it was cramping and I have been there and it is not fun. All the best to him and it is not how you want to come through a match but I am happy to be in the final”, said Tien
