Learner Tien Expresses Heartfelt Gratitude to Parents After Australian Open Milestone: “I Still Live at Home with Them”
Learner Tien progressed to his career's first Grand Slam quarterfinals by dismantling Daniil Medvedev.
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Learner Tien (Image via X/Ground Pass)
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The 2026 Australian Open fourth-round match between Learner Tien and Daniil Medvedev was a far cry from their clashes in the second round of last year’s Australian Open and the fourth round of last year’s Shanghai Masters. Both players had to toil for hours on the court before one of them emerged as the winner.
But Sunday’s clash saw Medvedev suffer a humiliating 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 defeat as Tien progressed to the quarterfinals of a Major for the first time in his career. The win helped the Tien take a 3-1 lead in the head-to-head matchups against the Russian pro.
Following the match, Tien, who turned 20 last December, was asked at the press conference whether his parents, Huyen Tien and Khuong Tien, still treat him as a kid and whether he still lives with them.
I still do live at home. I think this year some time I’ll probably get my own place. My parents are still very much involved in my life. I’m very grateful to them for it. My family has been such a big part of my life forever. It’s hard to think of a life without them. I’m very fortunate. They still do a lot for me.
Prior to this event, Tien made the fourth round of a Major only at Melbourne Park last year, losing in the first rounds of the French Open and the US Open, while at Wimbledon, he suffered a second-round exit. Tien made his Grand Slam main draw debut at the 2022 US Open. After finishing the 2024 Next-Gen ATP Finals as the runner-up, Tien lifted the title the following year by defeating Alexander Blockx.
Daniil Medvedev says Learner Tien outplayed him
Even though Daniil Medvedev was outplayed by Learner Tien, the Russian ace is still positive about his recent performances. En route to his defeat to Tien, the 2021 US Open champion knocked out Jesper de Jong in straight sets, then registered a four-set win over Quentin Halys, and battled past Fabian Marozsan in five sets.
If we take last, like, maybe eight tournaments, let’s say starting from US Open, so I don’t know if it’s, like, eight, nine, I played great. I beat a lot of players. I played great against some top players. In general, I was going far in the results. Even here, I won two very tough matches against opponents who played well, Halys and Fabian. So, I should try not to focus on this exact match, which was not good, because I mean, he outplayed me, so that’s not a good feeling.
Daniil Medvedev said at the press conference
Medvedev is a three-time Australian Open finalist, reaching the stage in 2021, 2022, and 2024, losing to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Jannik Sinner, respectively. The 28-year-old has yet to make the quarterfinals of a Major since the 2024 US Open.
In the quarterfinals of the ongoing event, Tien will be facing third seed Alexander Zverev, who registered a straight-set win over 18th seed Francisco Cerundolo. Tien and Zverev are tied at 1-1 in the head-to-head matchups.
Tien won their fourth-round meeting in Acapulco last year, but the three-time Grand Slam finalist emerged victorious in the first round of Roland Garros. Zverev finished last year’s Australian Open as runner-up, losing to Sinner in straight sets.
Tien has so far made two tour-level finals. He lost to Sinner in the China Open final last year and later lifted the ATP 250 title in Metz by defeating Cameron Norrie. Medvedev, after losing the 2025 Halle Open to Alexander Bublik, ended his title drought by beating Corentin Moutet in the Almaty Open final.
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