Learner Tien records milestone 50th win of career with opening victory at Indian Wells

Learner Tien came out swinging at Indian Wells on Thursday, battling past Adam Walton in two tie-breaks in his opening match at the ATP Masters 1000 event, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8).

His victory over the Australian was a special one, as it was the milestone 50th tour-level win of his career.

And it gets even more special.

At just 20 years old, Tien is the youngest American man to achieve 50 career tour-level wins since Andy Roddick, who was 19 when he hit that number at the 2002 Australian Open.

YOUNGEST U.S. MEN TO RECORD 50 WINS SINCE 2000 (tour-level):

• 19 years & 4 months: Andy Roddick [at '02 Australian Open]
• 20 years & 3 months: Learner Tien [at '26 Indian Wells]
• 20 years & 5 months: Alex Michelsen [at '25 Delray Beach]
• 20 years & 10 months: Sam Querrey [at '08 US Open]
• 20 years & 11 months: Taylor Fritz [at '18 Basel]

(Note: the ATP website lists Tien as having 48 career wins coming into Indian Wells, but due to a glitch his semifinal win from the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals is missing from that total, and it's 49—see today's ATP media notes for correct stats)

Tien’s milestone win didn’t come easily on Thursday, as the big-serving Walton pushed him to the brink in both sets.

The first set stayed entirely on serve, and things were initially neck-and-neck in the first set tie-break, too, as Walton inched ahead 3-2—but Tien caught fire just at the right time, winning the last five points in a row to run away with it. He finished the set off with back-to-back winners, first a backhand return winner and then a huge forehand down the line to close it out.

Walton got the first break of the match in the first game of the second set, but Tien broke right back and the two traded holds again all the way to the tie-break, where this time Walton had two set points—he unluckily mis-hit a forehand on his first one at 6-5, then Tien clubbed a crosscourt forehand winner on his second one at 8-7. Tien ultimately closed the match out on his third match point after Walton mis-hit a forehand wide.

It was the American’s first career win at Indian Wells.

Awaiting the No. 25-seeded Tien in the third round of Indian Wells will be No. 8-seeded Ben Shelton, who came back from a set down—as well as a mini-break down in the second set tie-break—to make it past Reilly Opelka, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Tien won the pair's only previous meeting, in the second round of the grass-court event in Mallorca last year, 6-4, 7-6 (2).