ACAPULCO, Mexico — In an impressive display of skill, American prodigy Learner Tien triumphed over top seed Alexander Zverev with a score of 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday, advancing to the quarterfinals of the prestigious Mexican Open.
This marked Tien’s second victorious outing against a top-five player in his young career. The talented 19-year-old from California previously knocked out Daniil Medvedev (ranked 5th) in the second round at the Australian Open back in January, where he reached the fourth round.
As the youngest competitor to achieve victories in his initial encounters against top-five adversaries, Tien joins an elite group, becoming only the second American to accomplish this feat after the legendary Jimmy Connors.
Next on Tien’s journey is a showdown with eighth-seeded Tomas Machac, who secured his place in the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 win over Daniel Altmaier.
In recent matches in South America, Zverev faced challenges, exiting in the first round in Argentina and the quarterfinals in Brazil.
The tournament’s third day in Acapulco was marked by the withdrawal of three seeded players due to illness. Among them was fourth-seed Holger Rune, who exited his match against Brandon Nakashima while trailing 3-0 in the first set.
Nakashima is set to clash with David Goffin, who earned victory over American Ben Shelton with a score of 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Expressing his frustration, Rune shared on X, “I’m both furious and deeply saddened. I suffered from food poisoning and couldn’t compete today. This tournament in Mexico is one of my favorites, and I didn’t want it to end this way.”
Tournament officials have yet to confirm whether the other players who withdrew were affected by the same illness that struck Rune. Second-seeded Casper Ruud also withdrew, unable to face Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco.
Another player hit by illness was third-seeded Tommy Paul, who pulled out before his match against Marcos Giron, giving his fellow American a walkover.
Giron will move on to face Denis Shapovalov, who secured a straightforward win over Alex Michelsen with a score of 6-4, 6-3.
