Alexander Zverev is into yet another Grand Slam semi-final, having put in another clinical display earlier today to knock out Learner Tien.
For the 28-year-old, this marks yet another golden opportunity for him to mount a real challenge for that long-awaited Grand Slam title.
Meanwhile, for the young American, this is just the start of what promises to be a long career laden with runs to the second week of major tournaments.
He performed admirably all week and did well to take a set from Alexander Zverev, given how well he was serving.
The eventual victor had nothing but good words to say about his opponent afterwards.
Alexander Zverev left really impressed by Learner Tien
Speaking about Learner Tien in his Australian Open press conference, Zverev first spoke about his fine record against left-handed opponents: “Yeah, a lot of times lefties love heavy forehands to your backhand. Especially, like, high backhand shots.
“I really love to hit high backhands (smiling), you know, so that’s probably one of them. The other thing is I grew up with a lefty as my brother, so I played with lefties all my life.”
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He then turned his attention to Tien, noting: “Learner, yeah, what impressed me the most is — I talked to my team afterwards. I felt like I didn’t have a spot on the court where I could just hit the ball and I felt like I was out of danger.
“You know, doesn’t matter what speed, doesn’t matter the height. I felt like if I was hitting fast but in his racquet, he was using my speed to redirect the ball. If I was hitting a bit slower, he was taking the ball early, being aggressive himself.
“I felt like there was not really a spot on the court where you could just put the ball there and restart the rally, which was quite impressive. It wasn’t that case last year, so he has improved a lot in that regard.
“I think, also, got to give credit to Michael Chang. I think what he is doing with him is phenomenal. Yeah, hell of a player right now.”
Earlier in the week, Alexander Zverev shared his opinion on on-court coaching at the Australian Open, in what has been a vocal few days for the three-time Grand Slam finalist.
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Speaking live on TNT Sports earlier today, Jim Courier was particularly complimentary when reviewing Zverev’s performance.
However, he began by crediting Tien, noting: “Learner Tien did try and get out of that pattern; he tried, but at the urging of his coach, Michael Chang, go down the line, he was having great success when he was able to do it.”
He then turned his attention to the German, praising the changes he’s noticed in his game: “But I love Sascha’s commitment to going with his forehand down the line, but that’s not his natural shot. He likes to hook it cross-court, and he went a lot down the line with it.
“It’s easy to do when the chips aren’t down. In the second set tiebreaker, he missed one going down the line, but he went with authority, and you’ve got to be able to accept that you’re missing the right shot.
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“That’s something that he’d, by and large, on his forehand, has been missing in his career; that commitment at crunch time to keep pressing. It’s easy to do when you’re up 40-0. It’s easy to do when your opponent’s serving and you don’t have to win that game.
“But when you have to do it, and there’s no question if he’s playing in the semi-finals against Carlos Alcaraz, he’s going to have to do it. He’s got to commit to it in every match.
“So I applaud him for that right now, and I tip my cap to Learner Tien. Boy, is he fun to watch.”
