In an unexpected turn of events at the Mexican Open in Acapulco, Britain’s Cameron Norrie was outplayed by Learner Tien, an American teenager who entered the tournament as a qualifier. Norrie, currently ranked 74th in the world, faced a surprising defeat with scores of 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 against the 19-year-old Tien, who sits just nine spots below him in the rankings.
Earlier this year, Norrie had the upper hand when he faced Tien in Hong Kong, emerging victorious. However, this time around, the match took a different course. In the first set, despite Tien racing to a 4-1 lead, Norrie fought back and even served for the set at 5-4. Yet, he faltered, allowing Tien to break back and seize the momentum, eventually clinching the tie-break. From there, Tien maintained his dominance to wrap up the match comfortably.
Elsewhere in the tournament, the second seed, Casper Ruud, breezed through to the second round by defeating France’s Arthur Rinderknech with a solid 6-4, 6-3 win. Similarly, American players Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton, seeded third and fifth respectively, also secured their spots in the next round, keeping their championship hopes alive.
