ATP Tour

Tien wins Geneva title, joins coach Chang in history books

Learner Tien will not soon forget the 2026 Gonet Geneva Open.

The rising lefty entered the ATP 250 event with a 4-9 tour-level record on clay, but showed great grit and determination to emerge as champion. Tien on Sunday defeated Mariano Navone 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 for the trophy.

“I feel incredible. Super tough match today. It started out really tough,” Tien said in his on-court interview. “I think the first couple games were longer than my first set yesterday, so a really tough match. Really happy to come through.”

The 20-year-old became the youngest Geneva champion since 18-year-old Marc Rosset in 1989 and the youngest American man to claim tour-level glory on European clay since 17-year-old Michael Chang won Roland Garros that same year.

Fittingly, Chang is Tien’s coach. Their hard work on the surface is proving fruitful, with Tien having made the Round of 16 at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome. That was the first time the American had won consecutive ATP Tour matches on clay.

But this week, the fourth seed took his game to new heights on the surface, beating 2021 Roland Garros finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, close friend Alex Michelsen and second seed Alexander Bublik before battling past Navone in the final.

"Last year I really struggled on this surface," Tien said. "Coming into this year I was really trying to get last year out of my mind. I had a couple of tough losses, and it was a bit discouraging. But people around me are very supportive, and they had more belief in me than I did in myself. I am really happy to win my first clay title here."

Tien will climb to a career-high No. 18 in the PIF ATP Rankings Monday, 49 spots higher than he was entering Roland Garros one year ago.

"The win gives me a lot of confidence in general for next weeks and months," Tien said. "Winning a title is never easy. Stringing together these matches and closing it out is never easy. It is a huge confidence boost, especially for next week. It is also a huge confidence boost for next year's clay-court."

Navone was in full control through the first set and after immediately losing serve in the second set, the Argentine immediately bounced back, making Tien’s task seem daunting. This year’s Bucharest champion was rarely letting slip control of points he was dominating, and doing well on defence to make his opponent work hard.

But the reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion was undeterred. Tien saved eight of the 12 break points he faced while converting five of his eight opportunities to triumph in two hours and 29 minutes.

“I think Mariano plays amazing tennis,” Tien said. “We really pushed each other and I’m really happy to come through.”