In a surprising twist at the Mexican Open, Alexander Zverev, the world’s number two, made an unexpected early departure after losing in straight sets to teenage qualifier Learner Tien. As the top seed and fresh off an appearance in the Australian Open finals, Zverev’s performance in Acapulco was riddled with uncharacteristic mistakes. This opened the door for the young American, who clinched the match with a decisive 6-3, 6-4 victory.
At just 19, Tien had already turned heads by defeating Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the previous round. His next challenge will be facing Czech player Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals. Reflecting on his win, Tien shared, “I just went out there and tried to control my side of the court. I knew it would be tough, so coming through like this feels amazing. Staying focused on what I can control and keeping my composure have really paid off for me.”
This victory marks Tien as the youngest American man to defeat a top-three opponent since Andy Roddick achieved the feat in 2001. His recent success includes reaching the final at the Next Gen ATP Finals in December and advancing to the fourth round at the Australian Open in January.
Zverev wasn’t the only seeded player to stumble in the second round. A total of six seeds made their exits, with Casper Ruud, Tommy Paul, and Holger Rune all withdrawing due to a stomach bug. Meanwhile, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe were defeated by David Goffin and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina respectively.
Casper Ruud, who finished as runner-up at the ATP 500 event last year, couldn’t even begin his match against local favorite Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez. Commenting on his condition, Ruud posted on Instagram, “I was hoping to overcome this stomach illness that showed up yesterday. Hoping to come back stronger in a few days and return to Mexico next year.”
Holger Rune, the fourth seed, started his match against Brandon Nakashima but was forced to retire while trailing 3-0 in the first set. He expressed his frustration on X, stating, “Furious and so sad at the same time. Had food poisoning and was unable to play today. Mexico is one of my favorite places, and I love this tournament. It’s absolutely not the way I wanted it to end.”
