Seven Americans advance Friday on home soil at the ATP Masters 1000

One week after becoming the youngest American to reach the last 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 since Frances Tiafoe in 2017, 19-year-old Learner Tien became the youngest American to win a Cincinnati Open match since Tiafoe that same season.

After notching three victories last week in Toronto, Tien battled through the opening round in Cincinnati with a 6-3, 6-4 result against qualifier Leandro Riedi. The #NextGenATP American saved all six break points against him, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to set up a meeting with ninth seed Andrey Rublev.

"I think it comes to me a little easier than most," the former junior World No. 4 said of his quick adjustment to the ATP Tour. "I think something I do well is I handle my matches pretty well. I stay pretty level-headed and I don't really let some things that happen get to me, and I think it's one of my biggest strengths for sure."

Tien earned his fourth win of the season against a Top 10 opponent in the PIF ATP Rankings when he beat Rublev in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting last month in Washington, D.C. He has also beaten Daniil Medvedev (Australian Open), Alexander Zverev (Acapulco) and Ben Shelton (Mallorca) this year.

"I try to believe that I can win any match that I play," Tien said of those upsets. "I think it gives me a lot of confidence going out there knowing that I've beaten a few of these top guys before. I just really go out there and I really enjoy those matches."

Third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, Tien is the top American in the standings for qualification to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

Nishesh Basavareddy followed Tien with an evening triumph of his own, 7-6(5), 7-5 against lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic, who replaced the injured Gael Monfils (left wrist). The victory was Basavareddy's first ATP Tour win on home soil and his first ATP Masters 1000 win overall. Seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race to Jeddah, Basavareddy will meet third seed Zverev in the second round for their first Lexus ATP Head2Head match.

It All Adds Up

Jenson Brooksby has now earned eight of his 14 tour-level wins this season on home soil after a 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-1 victory against Alexandre Muller. Among seven Americans to win on Friday, Tien, Basavareddy and Brooksby are joined in the second round by Reilly Opelka, Emilio Nava, Tristan Boyer and Ethan Quinn.

Nava was a 6-3, 7-5 winner against 2022 Cincinnati champion Borna Coric. The 23-year-old did not face a break point in the match and will next meet fourth seed and Toronto semi-finalist Taylor Fritz in an all-American showdown.