Tien’s Belief Overcomes Kecmanovic in Delray Upset
Two points from defeat, Learner Tien turned the tables on defending champion Miomir Kecmanovic, rallying to the Delray Beach Open quarterfinals with grit and timely defense on the Florida hard courts.
Under the warm Florida evening at the Delray Beach Open, Learner Tien refused to let his run end quietly. The 20-year-old lefty, still buzzing from his Australian Open breakthrough, faced match point against Miomir Kecmanovic, the defending champion serving at 5-4 in the third set. What followed was a 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) comeback, Tien’s unyielding resolve flipping the script in a match that pulsed with tension.
Kecmanovic, the reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion, built his edge through relentless baseline exchanges, his flat forehands slicing crosscourt to pin Tien deep. The American absorbed the pressure, his lefty returns looping high to disrupt rhythm, but a slip at 4-4 handed the Serb the break. As the crowd leaned in, Tien reset, drawing on lessons from Melbourne where he had toppled a top seed.
“I just kept believing,” Tien said in his on-court interview. “I got broken on kind of a bad game at four all, but just tried to put that behind me as best I could, and just made him beat me.”
Baseline pressure tests resolve
Kecmanovic served with confidence at 5-4, unleashing a 1–2 pattern that forced Tien into defensive scrambles on the medium-paced hard courts. His heavy topspin forehands down the line kept the lefty stretched, the air humming with the crowd’s anticipation as match points loomed. Yet Tien’s footwork held, turning potential winners into extended rallies that exposed the champion’s occasional impatience.
The break back arrived through sheer persistence, Tien flicking a slice backhand wide to pull Kecmanovic off balance, then pouncing with an inside-in forehand that clipped the baseline. This shift echoed his Australian Open run, where he had beaten Daniil Medvedev, a former world No. 1, by extending points until errors crept in. Now, with the score leveled, the Florida faithful sensed a turning point, their cheers fueling the underdog’s surge.
Defense sparks the tiebreak fire
In the decider tiebreak, Tien’s lefty serve angled sharply to the ad side, opening the court for crosscourt backhands that neutralized Kecmanovic’s power. He anticipated the Serb’s inside-out forehand, sliding low to return with underspin that stayed low and skidded through. The champion’s frustration built, unforced errors punctuating the points as Tien’s wall of defense held firm.
A net cord tipped in the American’s favor during a crucial exchange, but it was his mental lock that sealed the deal, forcing Kecmanovic to earn every inch. Fresh off pushing Alexander Zverev to a fourth-set tiebreak in Melbourne quarters, Tien mixed patterns seamlessly, his belief converting pressure into opportunity. The final point landed with a down-the-line pass, the crowd erupting as he claimed a 2-1 head-to-head edge.
“I got a little lucky. I think luck always plays a little bit of a role,” Tien reflected. “But I think just fighting, just staying in there every point, and really making him close me out, I think [that] just paid off.”
This victory propels Tien into the quarterfinals, his hard-court savvy shining brighter after the Australian Open grind. As Delray’s bracket tightens, the lefty’s trajectory points upward, ready to test higher seeds with the same quiet conviction that toppled a champion.
