Down two sets against Fabian Marozsan at Australian Open 2026 on Friday afternoon, Daniil Medvedev happened to glance at the scoreboard.
It showed that Learner Tien won his match, meaning Medvedev would face the American once again at Melbourne Park if he rallied against Marozsan.
The three-time Melbourne Park finalist did, prompting the fourth instalment in the pair’s already riveting rivalry despite the small sample size.
“I kind of don't like to play him, but he must hate to play me as well,” said Medvedev. “It's long, brutal rallies” but Medvedev vowed to “enjoy it.”
“There's going to be a lot of shot making, a lot of good defence from both of us, some passing shots, etcetera.”
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Medvedev admitted that he underestimated the left-handed Californian 12 months ago in the second round of Australian Open 2025.
Back then, Tien was a qualifier competing in his maiden Australian Open. But he stunned Medvedev in a fifth-set tiebreak in nearly five hours, showing his mettle by recovering from a missed match point in the third set.
The classic ended at about 3am local time, with a famished Tien later treating himself to pizza.
Medvedev subsequently dipped in Grand Slams and overall – recovering after the US Open – as Tien kept climbing.
“I remember my leg was hurting really bad,” Tien, now the No.25 seed, reflected on Friday.
“My mind was in a million places, but mostly happy.”
Their two other meetings, in Beijing and Shanghai in back-to-back tournaments on the Asian swing, also went the distance.
A cramping Medvedev retired in Beijing after two-and-a-half hours before cramps surfaced in the rematch. Yet Medvedev overcame his distress, prevailing in three hours.
“We both don't make it easy on our opponents. So, naturally, we're not making it easy on each other,” said Tien, almost bundled out in the first round when he trailed fellow Californian Marcos Giron 2-1 in sets and by a break, 4-3, in the fourth.
Medvedev, a former No.1, said the 20-year-old could become a future No.1.
Tien bids for a spot in a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal as does another fast riser, Victoria Mboko.
Mboko and her highly-esteemed opponent Aryna Sabalenka are sure to bring the heat themselves through their baseline hitting.
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If the 19-year-old Australian Open debutante topples the well-established world No.1, it would mark Sabalenka’s earliest loss at a major since a fourth round exit – in Melbourne – in 2022.
Since then, Sabalenka has soared, including in Australia, winning two of the past three Australian Opens and making the finale in 2025.
Despite coming up against the mighty Sabalenka, Mboko, seeded 17th after starting 2025 ranked outside the top 300, remains as chilled as ever.
“I think it’s super cool,” said the Canadian. “I’ve never played a current No.1. That’s going to be a very different experience.
“I’m just really excited. It’s something not many people get to experience.”
If she is to pull off another huge scalp — Mboko knocked off Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka en route to the WTA 1000 title at home last August – she might need to do it without playing a tiebreak. Sabalenka’s double success in tiebreaks on Friday against pal Anastasia Potapova made it 19 consecutive wins in that format in Grand Slams in the Open Era, tying Novak Djokovic for the lead.
Elsewhere on Day 8, Sydney native Alex de Minaur returns to action following his scintillating display on Friday against Frances Tiafoe.
“I'm rising to the occasion so far, and hopefully I get better and better as the tournament goes on, and I can give myself the opportunity to play the matches that I want to be playing here at the Australian Open,” said De Minaur.
Less than a year ago, De Minaur would have started as the significant favourite against Sunday’s rival and now fellow member of the top 10, Alexander Bublik. He won the first seven sets they played.
But Bublik overturned a two-set deficit against De Minaur at the French Open last May, then backed it up by ousting the 26-year-old again in France, in Paris at the end of 2025.
He carries a seven-match winning streak into the contest much of Australia is bound to watch, surrendering one set – to the dogged Giron.
De Minaur is among the quickest players on the men’s tour. Coco Gauff is right up there on the women’s.
Karolina Muchova, Gauff’s challenger on Sunday, plays similarly to Bublik. The drop shot always surfaces but punch comes from the serve; Gauff can rip the serve, too, when in rhythm.
Gauff hasn’t lost a set against the No.19 seed in their four meetings, though, neutralising Muchova’s serve.
Whereas Muchova won 67 per cent of first-serve points in all of her 2025 matches, the number drops to about 53 per cent when confronting the two-time Grand Slam champ.
“I always say she’s one of the best players on tour and deserves way more wins than she has,” said Gauff, referencing Muchova’s injury-hit past.