Daniil Medvedev wants to keep perspective after losing to Learner Tien at the Australian Open | ATP tour | Tennis

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Medvedev wants to maintain perspective after Tien’s loss at the Australian Open

Former world number 1 is now 1-3 behind the American in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series
January 25, 2026

When Daniil Medvedev took the court on Sunday to face Learner Tien in the fourth round of the Australian Open, he was perfect on the season and had an 8-0 record according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

However, just over 90 minutes later, the first blemish on his 2026 scorecard was clearly visible. The former three-time Melbourne finalist had few answers for Tien, who secured an impressive 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 win. Still, the 29-year-old Medvedev wanted to maintain perspective when reflecting on the defeat.

“I think I need to concentrate more in general. If we look at the last eight tournaments, starting from the US Open, I have played great,” Medvedev said. “I beat a lot of players. I played great against some top players. Overall I went far in the results. Even here I won two very tough matches against opponents who played well. [Quentin] Halys and Fabian [Marozsan].

“So I have to try not to concentrate on this exact match, which was not good, because he has surpassed me, so that is not a good feeling. But I have to concentrate more on the overall picture and just continue to work as I have done in the last tournaments. If I manage to play well and beat all the players I have beaten in all these tournaments, I can get where I want. Of course, it is a shame to finish a Grand Slam like this when I felt good and confident, but it is what it is.”

After a somewhat testing 18 months, Medvedev appears to be edging closer to his best since the start of the Asian swing in September. The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, now coached by Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke, has won recent titles in Almaty and Brisbane and recorded Top 10 wins against Alexander Zverev and Alex de Minaur.

However, he has now lost three of his four Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings against 20-year-old Tien, who also defeated Medvedev in Melbourne last year. Despite his frustrations with Sunday’s match, Medvedev was full of praise for the reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion.

“He played great, super aggressive. Even when I made good shots, he returned a better shot,” Medvedev said. “I didn’t find many solutions on the pitch today, which is rare, and I haven’t felt like this so many times in my life.

“But then again, these things can happen. He had an incredible match where everything went into it. It’s happened to me a few times too, and you even feel a little sorry for your opponent because okay, I can go for tweener now and probably with my eyes closed and get it. It happens. I maybe should have done something better to try to disrupt this rhythm of his.”

Medvedev will next play at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam, where he won the title in 2023.