Learner Tien has become a player opponents find hard to close out at the Delray Beach Open. After surviving a scare in the round of 16 when Miomir Kecmanovic stood two points from victory, Tien edged the defending champion in a final-set tiebreaker to advance.

Twenty-four hours later the 20-year-old left-hander delivered another late flourish, beating Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5. The fourth seed produced a sequence of timely defenses and late pressure that turned the match in his favor.

Tien credited a personal observation in the stands for extra motivation during the decisive moments. “I saw my mom sitting up there when I was down 4-5 and I know if I lost, she was going to leave tomorrow,” he shared. “I was kinda thinking that early in the match, at like 2-3 in the third maybe. But it really hit home when it was 4-5 and I could kind of see the end.”

The match featured several momentum swings. Tien saved a pair of set points on Tiafoe’s serve in the 10th game of the opening set and regrouped after Tiafoe produced a re-break for 6-5. In the third set he saved three break points to avoid falling further behind and then shifted the match with a decisive run.

Tien closed the match with a four-game streak that decided the outcome, winning 16 of the final 18 points and finishing by breaking Tiafoe at love. That run sent him into his first semifinal of the season.

Reflecting on his mindset when trailing early in the decider, Tien added: “I got down an early break, wasn’t looking too great. I prayed. I said, ‘God I trust your plan for this match.’ I just went out and competed,” he said.

Tomas Martin Etcheverry moved into the Rio de Janeiro semifinals with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over Jaime Faria, a victory that also marked the 100th tour-level win of his career.

At No. 51, the former Roland Garros quarterfinalist is the highest-ranked player and the only seed remaining in the ATP 500 draw. With his results this week, Etcheverry will jump past Sebastian Baez to become the new Argentinian No. 2 when the new ATP rankings are released on Monday, after Cerundolo. He is the sixth Argentinian man born in 1990 or later to reach 100 tour-level wins and just the second Argentine born in 1999 or later to do so, after Sebastian Baez.

Faria, a lucky loser who reached the Rio quarterfinals for a second straight year, threatened early. He held five break points in the opening set—one with Etcheverry serving at 2-all, two at 3-all and two at 4-all—but failed to convert. Etcheverry escaped a 71-minute first set in a tie-break and then carried the momentum into the second set.

Both players held serve through the first eight games of set two with no break points. Etcheverry produced the match’s first break for 5-4, then served out the contest, finishing the point with a crosscourt forehand that Faria hit into the net. The match statistics reflected the turning moments: Etcheverry was 1/2 on break points while Faria was 0/5.

Etcheverry is now two wins from his first ATP title. He has reached three ATP finals, all on clay, finishing runner-up twice in 2023 at Santiago and Houston and once in 2024 at Lyon, losing those finals to Nicolas Jarry, Frances Tiafoe and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard respectively.

Awaiting Etcheverry in the semifinals is Vit Kopriva, who earlier defeated Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-4, 6-4. While Etcheverry is the only seed left in Rio, the bottom half of the draw still features notable names, including former Top 10 player Matteo Berrettini, a former No. 6 now ranked No. 57, who played his quarterfinal later in the day against Ignacio Buse.

Tomas Martin Etcheverry continued his run in Rio de Janeiro with a straight-sets victory over Jaime Faria, 7-6 (4), 6-4, to reach the semifinals and register the 100th tour-level win of his career.

The No. 51-ranked Argentine is the highest-ranked player and the only seed remaining in the ATP 500 draw. With his result this week, Etcheverry will also move past Sebastian Baez to become the new Argentinian No. 2 when the new ATP rankings are released on Monday, after Cerundolo.

Faria, a lucky loser who reached the quarterfinals in Rio for the second straight year, threatened early. He held five break points in the first set—one at 2-all, two at 3-all and two at 4-all—but did not convert. Etcheverry escaped a 71-minute opening set in a tie-break and then closed out the second set by breaking for 5-4 and serving out the match, finishing with a decisive crosscourt forehand that Faria put into the net.

The break-point numbers underlined the match: Etcheverry was 1/2 on break points while Faria was 0/5.

Etcheverry is now two wins away from claiming his first ATP title. He has previously reached three ATP finals, all on clay, and finished runner-up at Santiago and Houston in 2023 and at Lyon in 2024. His three final defeats came to Nicolas Jarry, Frances Tiafoe and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard respectively.

Waiting for Etcheverry in the semifinals will be Vit Kopriva, who earlier beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-4, 6-4 to advance. While Etcheverry is the only seed left in Rio, the bottom half of the draw still contains notable names, including former Top 10 player Matteo Berrettini, a former No. 6 now ranked No. 57, who was scheduled to play Ignacio Buse in the other quarterfinal later in the day.

Etcheverry’s milestone places him among Argentine men born in 1990 or later to reach 100 tour-level wins and makes him the second Argentine born in 1999 or later to hit that mark, after Sebastian Baez.