To mark the end of another exciting season, ATPTour.com unveils our annual ‘Best Of’ series, which will reflect on the most intriguing rivalries, matches, comebacks, upsets and more. This week we look at the best rivalries of the year.
Daniil Medvedev versus student Tien was the rivalry that no one saw coming in 2025. Medvedev started the season in the Top 5 while Tien was outside the Top 100, hardly preparing for a return showdown. Still, their three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings proved to be some of the most compelling of the year.
As all-court players who could cut opponents to pieces, their clashes became a series of compelling strategic equations. Another layer of intrigue lay in the battle between experience and youth, as former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings took on a rising teenage sensation, with even the three-inch height difference between the two mattering in this budding rivalry.
All three of Medvedev and Tien’s Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings this year went to a deciding set, with the American left-hander holding a 2-1 lead over Medvedev. Tien started the year with a stunning five-set defeat to Medvedev at the Australian Open and they would not meet again until the Asian hardcourt swing, where two meetings in eight days ended in a split.
Australian Open R64, Ten d. Medvedev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 1-6, 7-6(7)
The outcome of the three-tie-break match between Medvedev and Tien in Melbourne looked more like a Sudoku puzzle than a tennis match, and the 2.54am finish only added to the drama.
Ten had a match point in the third set, which Medvedev erased with an ace, but ultimately the match was destined for a late-night classic in Melbourne rather than a routine straight-set victory. Medvedev was a defending finalist and had reached the title match twice more, but the former world number 1 left behind a 7/6 lead in the decisive tiebreak, ending his tournament. Tien captured four straight points and raised his arms in relief, with a big smile on his face after clinching the victory.
“I was definitely hoping it wouldn’t go to a breaker in the fifth set,” Tien admitted after the win. “But I’m just happy that I won. I know I made it a lot harder than it might have been.”
With crafty shotmaking and consistency throughout the four-hour, 48-minute thriller, Tien would eventually become the second-youngest American man to reach the Round of 16 at the first major of the season, joining Pete Sampras, who reached the same podium at the age of 18. Meanwhile, Medvedev finished the main season with a 1-4 record.
Tien bests Medvedev in a Melbourne thriller. Credit: Getty Images
SFs from Beijing, Ten d. Medvedev 5-7, 7-5, 4-0 retired
Early signs suggested Medvedev was on course to avenge his Melbourne defeat at the China Open in Beijing. Leading by a set and 4-1, and later serving for the match at 5-3, victory seemed within reach. But Tien refused to fade and remained calm during long rallies to capitalize on Medvedev’s mistakes and extend the semi-final at the ATP 500.
Medvedev left the court before the third set and returned with his upper right leg taped. He visibly struggled to get off the first point of the decider, apparently suffering from cramps. After completing the fourth match, the 29-year-old limped to the net and shook hands with Tien, who advanced to his first tour-level final and became the second-youngest finalist in Beijing history behind Rafael Nadal.
“I had the belief that I was still in the game, even though I was behind a break,” Tien said of his comeback. “I felt confident that I could break it because I was able to break it a few times in the first set. I hung around and it worked.”
Shanghai R16, Medvedev d. Ten 7-6(6), 6-7(1), 6-4
Just eight days after Medvedev was forced to retire in Beijing, he faced Tien again on the other side of the net and the third time was the charm. In a drama-laced Rolex Shanghai Masters fourth-round match, Medvedev overcame physical issues late in the second set and engineered a gritty late surge to victory.
A quality opener set the tone for one of the best games of the season. Then the drama intensified when Medvedev began to tense up at 6-5 in the second set. He asked his coaching team for pickle juice and spoke to the physio before the tiebreak, desperately saying: “What do you think I can do?” As he limped around the court, Medvedev’s fate seemed destined for a repeat of Beijing as Tien dominated the tiebreak.
However, Medvedev would not go down without a fight. Though frustrated by his physical condition and despite regularly begging his team for answers, Medvedev surged to three straight games of 3-4 in the decider to end the two-hour, 53-minute encounter. Medvedev’s rollercoaster victory was fueled more by the heart than anything, and he signed the camera lens afterwards: “I don’t want to leave the best city in the world just yet!”
In his post-match interview, a relieved Medvedev reflected: “To beat him… I thought I was going to lose. I started having cramps again and I’m just super happy that I did it.
“I thought the hardest part was that we played twice [before]and in my opinion he is an incredible player because he doesn’t have a great serve and serve is so important in tennis. Without the raise, he’s 19 years old and 30 years old and he’s only going up. In my opinion, he is such a good tennis player. He feels the game so well.”
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