"He got me, it was a beatdown" - Rising US star Learner Tien discusses Joao Fonseca & Next Gen ATP Finals defeat, 2025 goals and more in Exclusive

19-year-old Learner Tien became a part of tennis history on Thursday (Jan. 9), when he qualified for the 2025 Australian Open alongside his contemporaries Joao Fonseca and Martin Landaluce. This is the first time at least three under-20 players have made it to the main draw of a Grand Slam since Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Tommy Paul, Elias Ymer and Yoshihito Nishioka did it at the 2015 US Open.

Tien, seeded 16th in the qualifiers, overcame Slovakia's Jozef Kovalik 6-3, 6-4 on Court 12 in Melbourne Park to book his spot in the main draw. In the previous rounds of qualifying, he downed France's Gregoire Barrere and Argentina's Juan Pablo Ficovich.

This is the first time the American will play in the main draw of the Melbourne Major. He has drawn another Argentinian in the form of Camilo Ugo Carabelli for a first-round showdown.

A few months ago, Tien was in Jeddah, fighting for the coveted Next Gen ATP Finals title. He came critically close to getting his hands on the trophy but Joao Fonseca had other plans.

The World No. 120 lost 2-4, 4-3(8), 0-4, 2-4 to Fonseca in the title clash. This marked a second failure for him against the Brazilian at the tournament, having lost 0-4, 0-4, 4-1, 2-4 in the group stages, and second in the finals as he couldn't go past Fonseca in the 2023 US Open juniors summit clash.

After booking his spot in the 2025 Australian Open main draw, Tien joined Sportskeeda and touched upon his rivalry with Fonseca and goals for 2025.

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Exclusive interview with Learner Tien

Sportskeeda: First main draw in Australia… how’s the feeling?

Learner Tien: Good… I’m really happy to be in main draw. I missed main draw through my own ranking by a couple tournaments so just to get through qualies is great. It’s my first time here since juniors.

Sportskeeda: Tough result in Jeddah final… still what’s your biggest takeaway from that tournament?

Learner Tien: I played really good tennis. Feel like I’m kind of carrying on with the momentum through the New Year, which is great, it was a great start to the season for me. Hopefully, I can keep it going.

Sportskeeda: Anything in particular about Fonseca that troubles you… he beat you in the 2023 US Open juniors final as well.

Learner Tien: We’ve had some tight ones. He [Joao Fonseca] got me… it was bit of a beatdown, he played me in the first match at Next Gen and then the final was a lot closer. I’ve had my chances for sure. Obviously, he's a really good player so it’s always going to be a tough match.

Sportskeeda: American tennis has been doing great lately, you have Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul… how do you see yourself fitting in that group?

Learner Tien: Yeah, that’s always the goal to be up there competing with those guys. I’m just trying not to look too far ahead but hopefully I can make a big push this year. I’ve been playing some really good tennis.

Sportskeeda: Any big goals for 2025?

Learner Tien: My short-term goal is breaking Top 100. Besides that, haven’t really thought that far ahead.