Winston-Salem
Tien, 18, cruises into Winston-Salem QFs
Goffin, Hijikata advance
August 21, 2024
Scott Kinser\Winston-Salem Open
Learner Tien defeats Thiago Seyboth Wild after one hour, 28 minutes at the Winston-Salem Open.
By ATP Staff
Learner Tien’s dream debut week on the ATP Tour hit a new high Wednesday when he became the youngest American tour-level quarter-finalist since Brandon Nakashima in 2020. The #NextGenATP 18-year-old cruised past Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-3 at the Winston-Salem Open.
Tien advanced through qualifying and has since built upon his momentum. He earned his maiden tour-level win in the opening round and now awaits Pablo Carreno Busta or Aleksandar Vukic in the last eight.
“Very happy with the win. I thought I played a good match, pretty much from start to finish,” Tien said. “I actually wasn’t really sure I was into the quarter-finals until somebody said it after my match. It feels great.
“I feel like I’m playing pretty good tennis right now and I’ve been playing pretty well the past weeks, months. I’m excited to see how I finish off the year.”
As a result of his success, Tien has climbed two places to eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. A two-time titlist at the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships, the lefty is aiming for his maiden trip to the 20-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which runs from 18-22 December.
Tien is set to crack the Top 200 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time Monday. He has enjoyed great success on the North American hard courts this summer, claiming his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in July in addition to four ITF M15 trophies.
Former World No. 7 David Goffin also advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Arthur Rinderknech. The Belgian next faces Rinky Hijikata, who overcame last year’s semi-finalist Borna Coric 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Pavel Kotov, seeded 15th, ended the run of American lucky loser Zachary Svajda 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.