Top seed Learner Tien notched the biggest achievement of his young professional career when he swept No. 2 seed Alexander Blockx of Belgium 4-3 (4), 4-2, 4-1 Sunday to win the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Tien, a 20-year-old from California, was one of eight to qualify for the prestigious tournament for rising stars age 20 and under. He was the runner-up at last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, losing the final to Brazil’s Joao Fonseca.
Tien finished his round-robin group in a three-way tie at 2-1, advancing on a tiebreaker because he won eight sets compared to his counterparts’ seven.
In the semifinals Saturday, Tien bested fellow American Nishesh Basavareddy 4-2, 4-1, 4-3 (3). That set up his date Sunday with Blockx, where Tien absorbed his foe’s seven aces by playing nearly perfect tennis on his first serve (29 of 34 points won, 85.3%).
“I’m super happy,” Tien said of his season, which included his first professional win at the Moselle Open in France. “I was able to check a lot of boxes that I wanted to this year. I had a pretty long list of goals I wanted to hit, and I was able to get most of them. I’m really happy.”
–Field Level Media
