Australian Open: Learner Tien surges past Nuno Borges to be back into the Australian Open fourth round
Learner Tien, the No 25 seed, reached the round of 16 in Melbourne for the second consecutive year on Friday.
Learner Tien, Australia, 2026 | ©
The 20-year-old American Learner Tien, the No 25 seed, reached the round of 16 in Melbourne for the second consecutive year on Friday with a clinical 7-6(9), 6-4, 6-2 victory over Nuno Borges.
The victory confirms that Learner Tien is no longer just a prospect but a genuine contender on the major stage. Seeded 25th in Melbourne, the world No 29 showcased a level of composure and tactical maturity that has become his trademark since his breakout 2025 campaign.
Facing the 28-year-old world No 46 Nuno Borges on a raucous Kia Arena, Tien navigated a high-pressure opening set tiebreak that lasted 20 points before pulling away to secure a straight-sets win. For Borges, the loss ends a productive run where he had benefited from the retirement of No 7 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, but he found no answers for the relentless consistency of the young American left-hander.
A potential member of the new big three?
Tien arrives in the second week of the Australian Open with the wind of a monumental 2025 season at his back. Last year, the California native captured his maiden ATP title in Metz and won the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, a rise that saw him climb over 100 places in the rankings to a career-high of No 28.
Discipline over hype in the second week
Despite the growing media attention and comparisons to the sport’s legends, Tien remains famously focused on the immediate task. When asked about his ambitions for the 2026 season following his trophy-laden year, the 20-year-old was quick to shut down any talk of future milestones. “My focus is on my next match right now. I don’t like to look that far ahead. I like to take it match by match and week by week. Right now my biggest focus is my next round,” Tien said during his on-court interview.
But performance in Melbourne has justified the recent praise from elite coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who labeled Tien as a player capable of forming a new “Big Three” alongside Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner during a live session on Twitch.
This disciplined mindset has allowed him to match his best result at a Grand Slam and sets up a blockbuster fourth-round encounter with either the No 11 seed Daniil Medvedev or Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.
