Teen Tien highlights American charge into Australian Open fourth round

MELBOURNE :Teenage qualifier Learner Tien became the youngest man to reach the Australian Open fourth round in 20 years as the future of American tennis lit up Melbourne Park on Saturday.

Not two months after his 19th birthday, world number 121 Tien beat an ailing Corentin Moutet 7-6(10) 6-3 6-3 in Kia Arena to continue his brilliant debut at the year's first Grand Slam.

Tien's victory made him the youngest man into the fourth round since an 18-year-old Rafa Nadal, a fellow left-hander, in 2005.

The Vietnamese-American will play unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego for a place in the quarter-finals.

He advanced hours after his training buddy and fellow southern Californian Alex Michelsen cruised into the fourth round with a 6-3 7-6(5) 6-2 win over 2023 semi-finalist Karen Khachanov, the 19th seed, in John Cain Arena.

Tien and 20-year-old Michelsen play the popular online video game Fortnite with each other in their downtime and have been laying waste to the seeds in Australia.

Michelsen knocked 11th seed and 2023 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the first round before fellow Orange County native Tien pulled off the upset of the tournament by beating last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev in five sets in the second round.

"Honestly, it feels pretty crazy to be in the second week," Tien told reporters.

"Going through Qs (qualifiers) I've been here for a couple weeks already.

"I mean, I was down a set and a break first round of qualies."

Michelsen said he could take "1 per cent" of the credit for Tien's Medvedev upset because the pair had put in a big off-season together.

"A couple of years ago, never thought I'd be a pro," Michelsen told reporters after setting up a fourth-round clash against Australian number one Alex De Minaur.

"But at