After an opening-round loss in BNP Paribas Open qualifying at Indian Wells on March 2, 18-year-old Darwin Blanch shifted course and accepted a last-minute wild card into the ATP Challenger 175 in Phoenix. He moved from qualifying into the main draw and on Tuesday produced the biggest victory of his young career, defeating 52nd-ranked left-hander Terence Atmane 6-4, 6-4.

Reflecting on the week that followed Indian Wells, Blanch said, “I stayed training there for two days. I was doubting if I was going to come here or Cap Cana.” He credited his serve and returns for carrying him through the match. “It feels amazing. I’m super happy with the way I went into the match,” he says following the 6-4, 6-4 victory. “I was confident in my game and feel like I served super well. That helped me in the important moments. And also returned super well.”

Blanch spent several years at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy in Alicante, where he developed a first-hand appreciation for Carlos Alcaraz’s rise after seeing “how he really is off the court, training, and putting a lot of intensity and work in,” and has more recently relocated his training base to Buenos Aires. Ranked inside the top 300 this week and having peaked at No. 272 less than a month ago, he is focused on two immediate goals. “The goal right now is to get into the French Open qualies. I’m not that far away if I do well at a few more tournaments. It would be nice to also win a Challenger,” he shares.

Off court, Blanch has another item on his list. “I still haven’t gotten my driver’s license yet. It’s something I definitely want,” Blanch says with a smile. “At the same time, my dad and I are like, it’s not like I’m gonna drive anytime soon or need it. So we’re probably going to wait on that for now.”

Also in Phoenix, Jamaica’s Blaise Bicknell is regaining momentum after hip surgery and a long recovery. Bicknell, who won an ITF M15 in San Jose, Costa Rica and became the second Jamaican-raised player to claim an ATP Challenger title a little over two years ago, said, “I kind of rushed it when I was just coming back. I actually ended up pulling my quad in the same hip that I had surgery,” he shares. After dropping as low as No. 1054 last June, he reports confidence from recent wins. “I played a Futures last week and won it, so that’s given me some confidence,” he says. Bicknell qualified at the Arizona Tennis Classic by rallying past Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and noted the Phoenix Country Club’s relaxed atmosphere: “I’m from Jamaica so everything’s kinda laid back there. This event kind of reminds of me that, all the people are very nice and friendly.”

Jim Courier offered a comparison as Ben Shelton and Learner Tien warmed up before their BNP Paribas Open match: “When Ben Shelton walks into a room, you go, ‘Oh, that guy’s an athlete. He’s a specimen. He’s not like us.’ And then Lerner Tien walks in, and he’s pretty unassuming. He’s graceful. He’s smooth. You can tell that he’s got something going on, but you’re not sure what it is. Is he, like, a tech wizard? Is he, you know, a violinist? What is it?”

Courier went on to call Tien an “exceptional, perhaps generational athlete” in the mold of his current coach, Michael Chang, and suggested the young American could be thought of as a “tennis magician.” The description matches what Tien produced in his third-round win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, when the 20-year-old from Irvine, Calif., became the youngest American man this century to reach a Masters 1000 quarterfinal at the BNP Paribas Open.

Tien lost the first set 4-6 before rallying to win 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), surviving two match points. He described his state during the early stages: “[in the first set] I felt just a little down energy-wise, and my thoughts were just kind of everywhere. I don’t know how I really managed to get it together … I just did a good job trying to hang around and give myself a shot.” On one match point he admitted, “I don’t actually know how I hit that last shot [on the first match point],” Tien said. It was maybe a little bit lucky.”

The match showcased Tien’s willingness to swing for lines, despite 32 unforced errors, and his capacity to manage frustration with composure. He combines variety and left-handed angles to remain unpredictable, a trait he believes matters: “[When] I’m at my best, I feel like I’m not making that many mistakes. Learner Tien

“From the first point,” he said, “you’re pretty much adapting to what the other guy throws at you. Tennis IQ is [about] navigating that [challenge]. It could be shot selection, it could be where you serve from, where you receive, what you expect.”

That adaptability will be tested against No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner, who brings greater pace, length and experience. Tien’s poise, variety and lefty angles are the X-factors he will rely on in Thursday’s quarterfinal.

Learner Tien recovered from a set down and held on in a tense deciding tiebreak to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), at the 2026 BNP Paribas Open. Tien overcame two match points en route to the victory and became the youngest men’s quarterfinalist at Indian Wells since his coach Michael Chang in 1992, the year he went on to win the title.

The 20-year-old said a mixture of physical and mental fatigue contributed to a sluggish start. Tien had lost to the Spaniard last summer at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, also on hard courts, and that prior result framed part of the challenge he faced in the fourth round. He described the match as one where persistence and timing mattered as much as shot-making.

Q. It sounds very easy when you say, Oh, then I was able to pick it up. Is there something that just happens, you get a feeling, Okay, I’m rolling now, or is there something you can actively do to provoke that?

LEARNER TIEN: I mean, if it was something that I was always able to flip a switch, I wouldn’t have come out maybe so flat. But I think just trying to hang around and give myself a shot, give myself time to maybe find that second gear, I think is always important.

I mean, if you’re down a set and double break, by the time you kind of find yourself, I mean, it won’t really make a difference.

So I think I just did a good job of hanging around. Don’t really know what it was today. Just throughout the day during my warm-up, just felt a little bit shot. I feel like just mentally I was in and out, spacing out a little bit, didn’t really feel, like, fully there during the match.

Just felt like, for the first half of the match, I felt just a little down energy-wise, and my thoughts were just kind of everywhere.

Don’t know how I really managed to get it together, but happy I did

Along with good friend Alex Michelsen, Tien, who started the season with a run to the Australian Open quarterfinals, is one of two SoCal youngsters making noise in the BNP Paribas Open men’s draw.