Melbourne rematch looming? Tien and Borges set third-round date with Medvedev in sight
Learner Tien and world No. 46 Nuno Borges both secured clinical second-round victories on Wednesday.
Learner Tien, Australia, 2026 | ©
The Australian Open top half continues to serve up high-stakes drama as 25th seed Learner Tien and world No. 46 Nuno Borges both secured clinical second-round victories on Wednesday. Their upcoming third-round clash now carries significant weight, with a potential Round of 16 meeting against Daniil Medvedev looming as a tantalizing prospect – especially for Tien, who famously orchestrated one of the tournament’s greatest upsets against the world No. 11 last year.
Learner Tien continued his remarkable evolution from a 2025 qualifier to a 2026 seed with a dominant 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 win over Alexander Shevchenko. After a brief second-set stumble, the 19-year-old Californian showcased the “brick-wall consistency” that has become his trademark, winning 12 of the match’s final 13 games. This marks Tien’s second consecutive trip to the Melbourne third round, further cementing the Australian Open as the most successful major of his young career.
Borges’s consistency
On the adjacent court, Portugal’s Nuno Borges proved once again why he is considered one of the toughest outs in best-of-five tennis. Despite dropping a marathon 20-point tiebreak in the opening set, Borges systematically dismantled Australian wildcard Jordan Thompson to win 6-7(9), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. The victory moves Borges into the third round at Melbourne Park for the third year in a row, maintaining a streak where he has reached at least the round of 32 in five of the last six Grand Slams.
The winner of the Tien-Borges encounter is projected to face Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round, provided the world No. 11 overcomes Fábián Marozsán. For Tien, a meeting with Medvedev would be a “revenge match” of massive proportions; their five-set epic in 2025, which ended at 2:54 a.m., remains the biggest win of Tien’s life and arguably Medvedev’s most stinging Melbourne defeat. While Borges has the experience to disrupt the script, the prospect of a Tien-Medvedev Part II is already dominating the conversation among local fans.
