ATP Tour
Zverev regroups to tame Tien, returns to Australian Open SFs
German faces World No. 1 Alcaraz in the last four
January 27, 2026
David Gray/AFP via Getty Images
Alexander Zverev seeks his second consecutive Australian Open final.
By Arthur Kapetanakis
Alexander Zverev advanced to his third consecutive Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday by ending the career-best major run of Learner Tien. The German, who reached his third Grand Slam final last year in Melbourne, battled to a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-6(3) victory to keep alive his bid for a maiden major title.
With the Rod Laver Arena roof closed due to extreme heat, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings controlled the match with powerful and consistent serving, hitting 24 aces, according to Infosys Stats. Zverev saved all three break points he faced with unreturned serves — including one that doubled as set point at 5-6 in the fourth set — and kept Tien at a distance by dominating rallies of 0-4 shots, winning 106 of those exchanges to his opponent’s 68.
“Learner from the baseline was playing unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve played anyone who plays that well from the baseline for a very long time,” Zverev said of the 20-year-old, drawing huge cheers from the crowd. “Without my [24] aces, I probably would not have won today. I’m obviously very happy with my serve, just generally happy to be back in the semis.”
Semi-final bound ✈️@AlexZverev defeats Tien to reach the final four in Melbourne for the fourth time.@AustralianOpen | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/3gBr9yFKI6
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 27, 2026
After an emphatic upset of Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round, the 25th-seeded Tien put a scare into Zverev when he rattled off four straight points to win the second-set tie-break from 3/5 down. But more stellar serving helped the German regroup to roll through the third.
The patient Tien had more success in longer rallies, doing his damage with precision rather than power and effectively using width to open the court. But the free points kept coming on Zverev’s serve, leaving the German free to hit out as he repeatedly dragged his opponent into rallies on return.
After failing to close out the second-set tie-break, Zverev sealed the victory after building a 6/0 lead in the fourth-set tie-break — though his first double fault of the match at 6/0 injected one last bit of drama.
Zverev finished the 2025 season at No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings but still called it an “incredibly unsatisfying” year after winning just one title (Munich). The 28-year-old is living up to his sky-high standards this fortnight, particularly in his past two wins against an in-form Francisco Cerundolo and Tien — both of whom earned at least one Lexus ATP Head2Head win against Zverev last year.
Through to his 10th Grand Slam semi-final and his first since last year in Melbourne, Zverev will face World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
Tien, who bettered his breakout fourth-round run from one year ago at the Australian Open, is up to No. 24 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up to debut inside the Top 25.
