#learner-tien

#learner-tien

Honestly, I don't really remember my tournament here last year that well. I was in and out pretty quick. But 12 months is a lot of runway for a young player whose all-court ingenuity, appetite for improvement and ability to shed setbacks have generated lift. So far this year, everything has felt good. And I'm feeling pretty comfortable.

You will notice the announcer of the following highlight reel continually returns to one word to describe Learner Tien's performance against Alexander Shevchenko in the second round of the Australian Open: control. The 20-year-old American tidily dispatched Shevchenko in two quick hours, half of which the Kazakh spent in apparent physical agony and the entirety of which Tien spent in command.