Next Gen ATP Finals: Tien, Fonseca Advance To Title Match

Learner Tien, Next Gen ATP Finals
Learner Tien (photo: Peter Staples/ATP Tour)

JEDDAH/WASHINGTON, December 22, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)

The two youngest players this week at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – 18-year-old Joao Fonseca of Brazil and 19-year-old Learner Tien of the United States – will meet Sunday evening for this year’s title.

Indeed, the future of men’s tennis is now – and it’s in good hands.

Tien wins battle of besties

Best of friends off the court, where they enjoy competitive games of table tennis and Fortnite, Americans Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen have trained together in Southern California on the tennis court.

However, on Saturday evening, they tabled their friendship long enough to face off in a highly-competitive and entertaining semifinal at the Next Gen ATP Finals at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. Watching court side was 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal.

When the last ball was played, the No. 5 seed Tien had knocked off the previously unbeaten semifinalist, 20-year-old Michelsen, 2-4, 4-2, 1-4, 4-0, 4-1, in an hour and 35 minutes. The victory advanced the 19-year-old from Irvine, Calif. into Sunday’s title match. He will play unbeaten No. 8 seed Joao Fonseca of Brazil, whom he lost to during group play earlier in the tournament.

“I can’t put it into words right now,” the 122nd-ranked Tien said during his on-court interview that followed his semifinal triumph. “I am really happy with the win but I hate it was against him, but that is just how it goes. I started smiling when I came out here and saw him on the other side of the net, but I am really happy to get through and think I played really well.”

Tien contributed 21 winners, many of them with aggressive groundstrokes that were hit from a variety of different angles on the court. He converted four of nine break points, saved two of the four breaks he faced, and outpointed Michelsen 75-65.

Although Michelson hit 23 winners against Tien, he also committed 32 unforced errors.

After going 0-3 during last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals, Michelsen won his group stage with a 3-0 win-loss mark to advance to the semifinal round. At a career-high No. 41, after reaching tour-level finals in Newport (on grass) and Winston-Salem (on an outdoor hard court), Michelsen showed that he had improved his skill level.

“To go 3-0 in the group, I was very happy with that,” Michelsen said afterward. “Today I didn’t play the tennis when I needed and my buddy Learner stepped up when he needed.

“It was a great experience at the event this year. They changed a couple things to make it more enjoyable and winning also helps with that.”

Meanwhile, Tien enjoyed a breakthrough 2024 season, spent divided between the ITF World Tennis Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour. He won three ATP Challenger Tour titles this season – the most by any player who competed in Jeddah this season – and lifted four ITF crowns, too. Earlier this week, Tien upset No. 3 seed Jakub Mensik of the Czech- Republic and top seed Arthur Fils of France – last year’s finalist – during Blue Group play to finish second behind Fonseca. Now, with his upset of No. 2 seed Michelsen, he’s the first player in the tournament’s brief history to defeat all of the Top 3 seeds.

Fonseca remains undefeated in Jeddah

Joao Fonseca, the amazing 18-year-old Brazilian rising star, sprinted his way to victory over No. 6 seed  Luca Van Assche of France, 4-2, 4-2, 4-1, to advance to the title final against No. 5 seed Learner Tien of the United States.

The 145th-ranked Fonseca, who started the tournament as the lowest-seeded player in the eight-player field, is undefeated in four matches this week in Jeddah, including an earlier four-set victory over Tien in group play. He will be the lowest-ranked finalist in tournament history when he faces Tien in Sunday evening’s 8 p.m. final (6 p.m. CET; 12 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time). If he wins, he would be the second-youngest titlist following Jannik Sinner, who won the championship in 2019.

Against the 128th-ranked Van Assche, who reached the semifinals in consecutive years at Jeddah, Fonseca worked quickly – needing just an hour to complete his mastery of the Frenchmen – and his groundstrokes off both wings were powerful.

Fonseca finished with 20 winners, made only two unforced errors, faced no break points and broke Van Assche’s serve four times in 14 opportunities. He outpointed his opponent 57-32.

“On hard courts, [I’ve never had such a good week],” Fonseca said in his on-court interview. “I’m playing a very high level. I’m just very proud of myself and the way that I’ve been with my routine this week, so focused. With my family here, with my three coaches, it’s really nice and I hope I can go for the title.

“Today was a great match. I played really solidly,” Fonseca added. “I did what I talked about with my coach. He didn’t have too many chances because I was playing so aggressively and making all the shots. There is one more match to go, and I hope I can for it.”

Saturday’s Next Gen ATP Finals results

Sunday’s Next Gen ATP Finals order of play

By the numbers 

• Learner Tien is the third American to reach the Next Gen ATP Finals title match in tournament history. Tien follows Sebastian Korda, who lost the 2021 final to Carlos Alcaraz, and Brandon Nakashima, who lifted the trophy in 2022.

• Joao Fonseca, the only unbeaten player remaining in the field, has a chance to not only earn $153,000 for winning the Next Gen ATP Finals title if he should beat Learner Tien. He could earn a bonus payout of  $526,480 for being an undefeated champion.

“Quotable …”

“It would be amazing to win. I have one more to go, so I hope I can get it done. … I played Joao a few days ago and it was a rough one, so I think they are both great. There is no easy matches. To have another shot at Joao after losing earlier this week would be pretty cool.”

– No. 5 seed and finalist Learner Tien of the United States, during his on-court interview Saturday, looking ahead to Sunday’s title final.

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