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Learner Tien, a 16-year-old from Irvine, will compete Tuesday in the men’s singles draw at the U.S. Open in New York, one of the Grand Slam events in tennis.
Tien, a rising junior, will face No. 32 seed Miomr Kecmanovic of Serbia, a 22-year-old ranked 36th in the world, in the first round at 9:30 a.m.
Tien earned a wild-card berth to the U.S. Open by capturing the United States Tennis Association’s 18s national championships in Orlando, Fla. earlier this month. He defeated future University of Georgia player Ethan Quinn of Fresno 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3, in the final to become the youngest male to win the tournament since Donald Young in 2005.
Earlier this year, Tien also claimed the singles title at the ITF International Spring Championships in San Diego and reached the quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Junior Championships.
Tien hasn’t been known to play high school tennis but is associated with Irvine’s Tier 1 performance center.
