Tenn saves match point, advances to Indian Wells quarterfinals – Tennis Now
By Richard Pagliaro Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Image source: BNP Paribas Open Facebook
Indian Wells—learner field Growing up on the hard courts in Southern California and constantly shrinking the opponent’s safe space.
No. 25 seed Tian Junjie denied two match points at 4-5 in the decider Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) excited the home crowd and advanced to the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open for the first time.
Tien, 20, continues to hit milestones in Palm Springs. Tian is the youngest American man to reach the ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals since 19-year-old Sam Querrey (now a Tennis Channel analyst) in Cincinnati in 2007.
Southpaw Tian earned his 10th career top-20 win in dramatic fashion.
Trailing match point 4-5 in the final set, Tenn saw Davidovich Fokina’s attack net and received a crafty forehand pass near the doubles lane. The outstretched Spaniard sent a backhand volley wide of the goal. Perhaps Davidovich Fokina, one of the best players yet to win a tour-level title, would have been better off letting the pass bounce first and trying to treat it as a half-volley, but you can’t blame him for doing so given his stretch and Tian’s off-spin.
Tian En saved the second match point with a big serve on the T stage, and finally saved 5 draws in the 10-point game.
“Obviously there were two crunch moments, two match points, I mean, the first one was the long rally,” Tian said. “I actually don’t know how I hit that last shot. It was probably a little bit lucky. I wasn’t trying to hit it that well. I was trying to knock it down, but I wasn’t trying to hit that good shot.
“So maybe a little lucky. And then I was lucky enough to hit a good serve in the second service game. To be honest, after saving match point to get into the tiebreak, I felt like I was almost playing with the house’s money and being loose and really had nothing to lose.”
In the decider, Tien used composure, depth and angle errors to lead 6-3.
On Tian’s second match point, an exhausted Davidovich Fokina scored with a backhand slice, and Tian completed the match in 2 hours and 8 minutes.
Tian An hit 10 aces today and saved 4 of 5 break points.
The Cheonan train continues to move.
After Tian Junjie defeated big-serving compatriot Ben Shelton 15-8 in a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 victory in the 32nd round, he kept his cool and hit the corner at key points to defeat world No. 19 Davidovich Fokina for the first time.
Tian’s technique combines deep strikes with shorter, sharper angles, coupled with his impeccable timing, allowing him to steal time away from his opponents.
“What impressed me most was that I talked to my team about it afterwards and I felt like there was no position on the court where I could hit the ball and I felt like I was out of danger,” Alexander Zverev said after beating Tian in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January. “It doesn’t matter the speed, the height doesn’t matter. I feel like if I hit the ball fast but in his racket, he’s going to use my speed to change the direction of the ball. If I hit the ball slower, he’s going to get the ball early and he’s very aggressive himself.”
Tenn will need to be knowledgeable and decisive to reach the semi-finals against world number two Yannick Sinner or Brazilian prodigy João Fonseca.
“It’s a tough game no matter what. Both are excellent forwards,” Tian said. “When they play their best, they can really take the racket out of your hands. I think they’re playing right now. I think it’s serving. Yeah, it’s going to be a very tough game no matter what.”
Tanano’s shrewd court sense and sharp groundstrokes led his doubles partner in the Indian Wells draw, former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, to praise him as having the highest tennis IQ among the young players he has faced. After today’s dramatic comeback, we asked Tian what he thinks his best weapon on the court is.
“I think when I’m at my best, I feel like I don’t make as many mistakes,” Tian said. “I feel like, yeah, my
The mode I’m playing is a little unpredictable. I think I really put the shot where I wanted it.
“I think, you know, shot selection is a big part of my game. When I’m at my best, I think I’m just hitting my spots well and just executing what I want to do.”
