Alexander Zverev regroups to defeat student Tien and advances to the Australian Open SFs | ATP tour | Tennis

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Zverev regroups to tame Tien and returns to the Australian Open SFs

German awaits winner of Alcaraz vs. De Minaur
January 27, 2026

Alexander Zverev advanced to his third consecutive Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday by ending Learner Tien’s career-best major run. The German, who reached his third Grand Slam final in Melbourne last year, fought to a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-6(3) victory to keep his bid for a first major title alive.

With the roof of the Rod Laver Arena closed due to the extreme heat, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings controlled the match with powerful and consistent serving, hitting 24 aces, according to Infosys Stats. Zverev saved all three break points he faced on unreturned serves – including one that doubled as a set point at 5-6 in the fourth set – and kept Tien at bay by dominating rallies from 0-4, winning 106 of those exchanges to his opponent’s 68.

“The student from the baseline played incredibly. I don’t think I have played against someone who plays so well from the baseline for a long time,” Zverev said of the 20-year-old, who drew huge cheers from the crowd. “Without mine [24] I probably wouldn’t have won aces today. “I’m obviously very happy with my serve, but overall happy to be back in the semi-finals.”

Semi-final reached ✈️@AlexZverev beats Tien and reaches the last four in Melbourne for the fourth time.@AustraliaOpen | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/3gBr9yFKI6

— ATP tour (@atptour) January 27, 2026

After an emphatic attack from Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round, 25th seed Tien gave Zverev a scare as he rattled off four straight points to win the second set tiebreak by 3/5. But better service helped the German regroup to get through the third.

The patient Tien had more success in longer rallies, dealing his damage with precision rather than force and effectively using width to open up the playing field. But the free points kept coming on Zverev’s serve, leaving the German free to punch out as he repeatedly dragged his opponent into rallies on return.

After failing to close out the second set tiebreak, Zverev sealed victory after building a 6/0 lead in the fourth set tiebreak – although his first double fault of the match at 6/0 provided a final bit of drama.

Zverev finished the 2025 season ranked No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but still called it an “incredibly unsatisfactory” year after winning just one title (Munich). The 28-year-old has been living up to his sky-high standards this fortnight, especially in his past two victories against the in-form Francisco Cerundolo and Tien – both of whom had at least one Lexus ATP Head2Head victory against Zverev last year.

Until his 10th Grand Slam semi-final and his first since last year in Melbourne, Zverev awaits the winner of Tuesday night’s showdown between world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Australian hope Alex de Minaur.

Tien, who improved on his fourth-round breakthrough at the Australian Open a year ago, is ranked No. 24 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for his debut in the Top 25.