ATP
Teen tyro Learner schools Shelton
American Learner Tien sent Ben Shelton back to school as the teenager stunned the top seed 6-4, 7-6 (2) in an opening upset at the ATP Mallorca event. on Wednesday.
The No, 67 spoiler scored the second-round upset against his compatriot on the grass of the Spanish Mediterranean venue in just under an hour and three-quarters, matching Shelton”s seven aces and breaking three times.
The 10th-ranked Shelton was unable to capitalise on his 3-0 lead at the start against the 19-year-old who has defeated both Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev this season.
The outsider, swept six of seven games to claim the opening set and nullified a similar lead from the seed in the second set on the way to the upset.
Tien is the youngest American to defeat a Top 10 player on grass on the ATP.
“I thought I returned really well today,” Tien said. “I felt it was tough to serve today with the wind.
“My toss moved around a lot but I thought I returned really, really well and gave myself a lot of looks on return games.”