The wind was swirling in Montreal on Sunday, and it made things difficult for Learner Tien and Thiago Augustin Tirante. In the end it was the 20-year-old American who handled things a bit better – enough to squeeze out a 6-4 6-4 win and become the youngest American man to reach the quarterfinals at the Canadian Masters since Andy Roddick in 2002. 

Tien broke serve four times from 12 opportunities, including the final game of the match to lock up a matchup with Spain’s Daniel Merida for a spot in the semis. 

“60 percent of the shots that made contact with my racquet were not clean, but I honestly thought that I returned really well today, that was really big for the match today, to give myself a lot of looks on return today – that was huge.” 

The Southern California native spoke about his philosophy on playing the on playing in the wind after the match, at the Tennis Channel set. 

“I try to get my feet going a little bit more. I think just staying alert, being ready for the ball to jump in a weird way, being ready to take the extra couple of steps,” he said. 

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He was ready to move his feet in the final game, after he had failed to serve out the match from 5-3. Tien, seeded 12th, improved to 24-13 on the season and 6-1 lifetime at the Canadian Masters. 

“Obviously I was a bit disappointed when I got broken at 5-3, but I didn’t care that much, I put it behind me pretty quick – 6-4, 5-4 is still a great spot to be in,” he said. “I just stayed there mentally and it worked out.” 

The World No.19 has a golden opportunity for a best ever Masters performance. Merida has been on the rise lately, but the 21-year-old world No.63 entered this week with zero hard court wins at ATP level to his name. 

“Take it one match at a time,” Tien said of his approach to the wide open draw in Montreal, which features no players older than 25. “I know my next opponent’s been playing great tennis. 
That’s my focus right now. You can only play who’s in front of you.

“Rankings go out the window once you step on court.”