One of the most compelling and unexpected rivalries on the ATP Tour right now began just over a year ago at the Australian Open at three o’clock in the morning. Newcomer Learner Tien upset Tour veteran Daniil Medvedev in a five-setter that ended up being one of the best matches of the year. Now, a year and three additional matches later, Medvedev and Tien will be teaming up in doubles at Indian Wells.
The Back-and-Forth Rivalry
A few months after Tien’s monumental victory in Melbourne, they faced off in the semifinals of Beijing. The match stretched into a third set, where Medvedev retired down 4-0. So far, the young rivalry wasn’t going the older player’s way.
But Medvedev had another chance the very next week in the Shanghai fourth round, and he took it. Despite playing a poor tiebreak in the second set (which ended 7-1 in favor of Tien), Medvedev managed to eke out the win in the third and get a point on the board in the matchup.
They met again, fittingly, at the 2026 Australian Open, but it couldn’t have been more different than their first match. Tien won in straight sets, including a 6-0 second set, to advance to his first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal. Before the match, Medvedev made it clear how he felt about the rivalry, saying: “I don’t like to play him, but he must hate to play me as well.” But Medvedev and Tien may be the only people in the world who dislike the matchup, as it was named a top rivalry of 2025 by the ATP.
Mirror Playstyles
Part of what makes Medvedev and Tien’s matches so high-quality is the unique playstyle they share. Medvedev and Tien aren’t players who will light up a highlight reel with big winners; their strengths come from consistency and point construction. Long rallies, defensive play, and clever shotmaking characterize their games.
After their Shanghai match, Medvedev called Tien an “unbelievable player,” which he believed was all the more impressive considering Tien’s lack of a strong serve. While Medvedev does have a bigger serve, it certainly doesn’t match up with the ATP’s elite servers and it’s something that he, like Tien, has to work around.
When Medvedev and Tien play each other, it’s as much a mental game as it is a physical one.
Working Together in Doubles
Medvedev isn’t exactly known for his skill in doubles–quite the opposite, in fact. His style of tennis doesn’t translate very well to the doubles court, and he was famously unable to return Sara Errani’s serves in Olympic mixed doubles. Tien hasn’t played much Tour-level doubles, but currently holds a 3-10 record.
The pairing is, on paper, likely heading for disaster. But the quality of Medvedev and Tien’s rivalry was entirely unexpected, and they just might be able to translate that level of tennis to the doubles court.
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images