Learner Tien upsets Alexander Zverev, makes Acapulco quarters

Learner Tien upsets Alexander Zverev, makes Acapulco quarters 1 | ASL

ACAPULCO, Mexico — American teenager Learner Tien beat top-seeded 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday to move into the quarterfinals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco

It was his second career win over a top-five player. The 19-year-old from California defeated Daniil Medvedev (5) in the second round of the Australian Open in January when he reached the fourth round.

The left-handed Tien is the youngest player to win his first two matches against top-five opponents, and only the second American after Jimmy Connors.

Tien is next playing eighth-seeded Tomas Machac, who advanced after beating Daniel Altmaier 7-6 (3), 6-1.

In his South American matches recently, Zverev lost in the first round in Argentina and in the quarterfinals in .

The third day of play in Acapulco saw three seeded players quit with an illness. One of them was Holder Rune (4), who left his match against Brandon Nakashima down 3-0 in the first set.

Nakashima will play against David Goffin, who defeated American 7-6 (3), 6-3.

“Furious and so sad at the same time. Had a food poisoning and was unable to play today,” said Rune on X. “One of my favorite places is Mexico and I love this tournament. Absolutely not the way I wanted it to end.”

Tournament organizers have not said if the other players who retired suffered from the same ailment as Rune. Second-seeded Casper Ruud also could not play against Mexican Rodrigo Pacheco.

The other player who got sick in Acapulco was third-seeded Tommy Paul, who pulled out before his match against Marcos Giron to give his countryman a walkover.

Giron will next play Denis Shapovalov, who had a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alex Michelsen.

Source: espn.com