Zverev Blasts Past Tien To Reach Semi-finals

Melbourne: Last year’s runner-up Alexander Zverev reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday, defeating young American Student Tien in a flurry of aces.

Zverev won 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) to face world number one Carlos Alcaraz or home prospect Alex de Minaur for a place in the Melbourne final.

World number three Zverev of Germany is eager to finally win a Grand Slam at the age of 28, having been soundly beaten by Jannik Sinner in last year’s title race.

“If it wasn’t for my aces, I probably wouldn’t have won today,” said Zverev, who posted 24 aces on match point and made just one double fault. “Honestly, I am very pleased with my service.

“The student outside the baseline was playing incredibly,” he added. “The way he plays is incredible.”

The quarter-final took place under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena to avoid temperatures expected to reach 45C outside.

In the world, Tien, a 29-year-old Californian, was the lowest-ranked player remaining in the men’s draw.

He was also the youngest player at 20 and playing in the biggest game of his life, having never reached the last eight of a major before.

Zverev, by contrast, is an experienced challenger at the cutting edge of the Grand Slams, but has famously never won one of the four biggest tournaments.

He also finished second at the US Open in 2020 and the French Open in 2024.

The more experienced player made a better start and put Tien ahead 4-2, securing the first set.

Tien, coached by 1989 French Open champion Michael Chang, who won his first ATP championship in November, faced Zverev in the second set.

They went to a tiebreak with the service advantage and Zverev raised the bar and took the lead 5-3.

But Tien refused to give in and played brilliant defense, breaking back and then overhauling the deficit to level the match.

The American was on the fans’ side, but Zverev’s serves were relentless and he took a 5-1 lead in the third set.

Zverev wrapped up the set in 28 minutes as Tien’s number of unforced errors increased.

With Chang’s vocal presence, Tien regrouped in the fourth round and had a 6-5 set point, but Zverev got himself out of trouble and forced a tiebreaker.

The German player raced to complete the victory by breaking the tie with his serve fire.