MELBOURNE :American Learner Tien kept the teenage revolution going at the Australian Open by reaching the fourth round on Saturday after 38-year-old Gael Monfils had made a big statement for the old guard with a stunning win over fourth seed Taylor Fritz.
Women’s second seed Iga Swiatek romped to victory while defending men’s champion Jannik Sinner was not as flawless in the evening but proved he was still the man to beat at the year’s opening Grand Slam.
Tien showed maturity beyond his 19 years to continue his dazzling run on his Melbourne Park debut, becoming the youngest player in the last 16 since Rafa Nadal in 2005 by beating an ailing Corentin Moutet 7-6(10) 6-3 6-3.
The American had ousted fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in the early hours of Friday and showed little signs of wear and tear from that five-set epic to book a clash with Lorenzo Sonego.
“It feels great, obviously,” said the Californian. “This exceeded my expectations coming into this week, you expect to win every match but to be in the second week is amazing.”
Italian Sonego beat Fabian Marozsan 6-7(3) 7-6(6) 6-1 6-2 to book his place in the fourth round, having ended the campaign of Brazilian 18-year-old Joao Fonseca in the second round.
Tien, Fonseca and 19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik tore up the form guide by dumping out top 10 seeds in an extraordinary first week, heralding the rise of a new generation to threaten early twentysomethings Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner.
Novak Djokovic, at 37, is still flying the flag for the golden generation in the fourth round and Frenchman Monfils joined him by battling from a set down to outlast U.S. Open runner-up Fritz 3-6 7-5 7-6(1) 6-4, celebrating with a jig.
“I keep playing for those matches,” said Monfils.
“Play big players, big stadiums, good crowd, good energy. When you’re 38, that’s what you want.”
Monfils later returned to Margaret Court Arena to support his wife Elina Svitolina, who matched his feat by beating fourth seed Jasmine Paolini 2-6 6-4 6-0 to set up an encounter with Veronika Kudermetova.
There was no glimmer of an upset earlier when Swiatek moved into the fourth round with a 6-1 6-0 hammering of Emma Raducanu in a meeting of former U.S. Open champions.
“I enjoyed playing, I played a few shots where I thought ‘yeah, this is what I practised for’,” said the 23-year-old Pole, who has yet to drop a set.
Swiatek will next face Eva Lys, who became the first lucky loser to reach the women’s fourth round since 1988 after beating Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 4-6 6-3 6-3.
UNFORCED ERRORS
Sinner also enjoyed his share of fortune as American Marcos Giron did not make him pay for the 37 unforced errors he coughed up in an otherwise uneventful 6-3 6-4 6-2 win.
“I felt today was maybe the best match in the way of how I tried to play. I made mistakes but it’s okay,” said Sinner, who now plays Holger Rune after the Dane outlasted Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7(5) 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-4 in a late-night thriller.
“Of course, I want to raise my level in the next round.”
Giron’s defeat meant four American men reached the last 16 after Ben Shelton downed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 3-6 6-4 7-6(5) and Alex Michelsen overcame Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-6(5) 6-2, with Tommy Paul advancing a day earlier.
The Australian flag also flew high with the American Stars and Stripes, as Alex de Minaur reached the second week after a 5-7 7-6(3) 6-3 6-3 win over Argentine Francisco Cerundolo on a packed centre court to set up a meeting with Michelsen.
“You put in a lot of hard work in the off season and these are the results,” said the men’s eighth seed.
Women’s eighth seed Emma Navarro earlier joined the American charge with a 6-4 3-6 6-4 victory over Tunisian Ons Jabeur.
Next up for Navarro is Russian Daria Kasatkina, who downed Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 7-5 6-1 on Kia Arena to reach the second week for the first time on her 10th trip to Melbourne Park.
Putintseva’s compatriot Rybakina needed seven match points to close out her 6-3 6-4 win over Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, who reached the semi-finals as a qualifier last year.
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina was clearly hampered by a back problem for much of the contest on John Cain Arena.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be able stay long in the rallies so I had to be aggressive,” she said. “I’ll see my physio and he’ll do some magic.”
Danielle Collins endured loud jeers after her run-in with fans but was more troubled by a left knee issue as she fell 6-4 6-4 to her childhood friend Madison Keys, who became the third U.S. woman to make the last 16, joining Navarro and Coco Gauff.
