Louis Armstrong stayed up
Half past one in the morning, and the seats were still full. Learner Tien had asked New York to wait, and New York waited.
The 20-year-old American beat Jakub Mensik 6-3, 1-6, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the US Open overnight, three hours and 24 minutes of tennis that started on Saturday night and finished on Sunday morning inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. Tien took the opening set. Then the 17th seed took the next two, closing the third in a tie-break he won 7-2. Tien won the last two anyway.
“I want to thank everyone for staying late,” he said on court afterwards. “If the stadium was empty, I’m not sure if I would have won the match. It is incredible. There’s really no place like here. I am super pumped that everyone came out and supported me tonight.”
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A number that belonged to Roddick
The win puts Tien into the fourth round in New York and into a piece of American tennis history. At 20 he becomes the youngest American man to reach that stage at the US Open since Andy Roddick, who was the same age when he did it in 2002.
Seeded 14th here, Tien has spent the fortnight clearing hurdles without much noise while bigger names have gone out around him. Mensik controlled the middle of the match and led by two sets to one. He could not find a way through the American’s returning once the fourth set began, and the fifth turned on a single break.
Khachanov is the reward
Karen Khachanov comes next, and he arrives fresher. The Russian spent barely two hours on court earlier on Saturday, easing past Benjamin Bonzi 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the last 16 in New York for the first time since 2022, when he ran all the way to the semi-finals before losing to Casper Ruud.
Khachanov had already removed third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round, so he is not short of form or confidence. Tien is short of sleep. That gap, rather than anything either man does with a racquet, may end up deciding the tie.
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