California kids Taylor Fritz and Learner Tien will try to carry the American flag into round four of the Australian Open when they return to action on Saturday. Fritz faces Gael Monfils; Tien meets fellow lefty Corentin Moutet.
(4) Taylor Fritz vs. Gael Monfils
Monfils’ run has to end at some point, right? For now, the 38-year-old Frenchman is showing no signs of slowing down. He captured his 13th career title last week in Auckland and has extended his winning streak to seven matches with Australian Open victories over compatriot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Daniel Altmaier.
Although a win over Mpetshi Perricard is nothing to sneeze at, the competition level gets even tougher during third-round action on Saturday. Fritz surged to No. 4 in the world last season and is on fire to begin 2025, sporting a 6-1 record that includes a team title for the United States at the United Cup. The 27-year-old dropped a mere eight total games in the first two rounds at Melbourne Park while humiliating Jenson Brooksby and Cristian Garin. Up next is just a second encounter with Monfils–and also their second at the Australian Open. In the 2019 second round, Fritz prevailed 6-3, 6-7(8), 7-6(6), 7-6(5). Five years later, this is an entirely different Fritz whom Monfils will be facing–which means a more one-sided result can be expected.
Pick: Fritz in 3
Corentin Moutet vs. (Q) Learner Tien
Teeangers on the men’s side have been the big story so far this fortnight. Tien, Joao Fonseca, and Jakub Mensik all ousted top-10 opponents in the first two rounds. Tien’s heroics came on Thursday night (or more like Friday morning), when the 19-year-old American outlasted world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(8), 1-6, 7-6(10-7) after four hours and 49 minutes in a match that ended at 2:55 am. Thus continues an awesome run for Tien, who pretty much dominated the Futures and Challengers circuits last season before finishing runner-up to Joao Fonseca at the NextGen ATP Finals.
It will be an all-lefty showdown when Tien and Moutet square off for the first time on Saturday. Moutet often befuddles opponents with his left-handedness and overall unique style of play, which was exactly the case against Alexei Popyrin and Mitchell Krueger earlier this week. The Frenchman’s flair may not give Tien as much trouble. After all, Tien is also a lefty who doesn’t blow opponents off the court but beats them with foot speed, consistency, and changing directions of the ball. In what should be a competitive contest, the mental edge goes to a more level-headed Tien–and perhaps even the physical edge, too, given what he showcased against Medvedev.
Pick: Tien in 4
