AGENCY
MEXICO CITY, Feb 27
Alexander Zverev suffered a shock defeat to teenager Learner Tien, who claimed the biggest win of his career.
Zverev, the top seed at the Acapulco Open, went down 6-3 6-4 to the 19-year-old American on Wednesday.
Tien, who claimed a big win over Daniil Medvedev en route to reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open in January, came from 1-4 down to win the second set – and the match – by reeling off five straight games.
“I just went out there and tried to control my side of the court,” said Tien, who will face Tomas Machac in the last eight.
“Obviously, I knew it was going to be a tough match. To come through feels great.
“I think just focussing on what I can control and keeping my cool as best as I can has really taken me a long way.”
While world number two Zverev must now bounce back from another frustrating run, having failed to make it beyond the quarters at any of the events he has played since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final, Tien can celebrate becoming the youngest American player to beat an ATP top-three-ranked opponent since Andy Roddick did so in 2001.
Since the ATP rankings were first published in 1973, Tien (19 years, 87 days) is now the youngest player to win his first two matches against ATP top-five opponents, and only the second American overall, after Jimmy Connors.
Zverev’s defeat was not the only shock result at the ATP 500, as fifth seed Ben Shelton lost 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to David Goffin.
Casper Ruud, Tommy Paul and Holger Rune were big-name exits, though they withdrew due to a combination of illness and injury. That trio will now look to get back to full fitness ahead of the Indian Wells Open.
Frances Tiafoe lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fok-ina, while Denis Shap-ovalov – who won the Dallas Open earlier this month – beat Alex Miche-lsen in straight sets.
