Learner Tien stuns Stefanos Tsitsipas in Geneva opener

At the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva, the final clay-court event before Roland-Garros, Learner Tien produced a major upset by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in his opening match, News.Az reports, citing Tennis Temple.

The Greek star entered the tournament as a wild card, and their clash was scheduled as the opening match of the day.

The match was marked by contrasting statistics, with the American showing greater aggression, producing 36 winners and 8 aces.

Tien also proved more solid on his first serve, winning 78% of first-serve points compared to Tsitsipas’ 64%. However, he struggled to capitalize on break-point opportunities, converting just 25% (2 out of 8), while Tsitsipas converted 2 out of 4.

Tsitsipas, a two-time Grand Slam finalist, struck first in the opening set, breaking serve to go 1-0 up. Tien immediately responded with a break of his own, and the set remained tightly contested until a tiebreak. The American edged it 7-6 after Tsitsipas had led 4-1, winning the final six points of the breaker.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Tien breaking early only for Tsitsipas to break back immediately. However, the second tiebreak was one-sided, with Tien dominating it 7-2 to close out the match.

Tien ultimately defeated Tsitsipas in straight sets, 7-6, 7-6, to advance to the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 Geneva tournament, marking a significant result in his rise on the ATP Tour.

Notably, six months ago Tien was ranked world No. 28, while Tsitsipas was No. 34. Today, the American sits at No. 20, while the Greek has fallen to No. 82.

Tsitsipas, who has 158 career clay-court wins and three Monte-Carlo titles, has not lifted a trophy on the surface since April 2024.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev