Will Sascha secure his ticket to the semifinals?
After three 3-1 victories to start the tournament, Alexander Zverev defeated one of his nemeses, Francisco Cerundolo, in the round of 16 at the 2026 Australian Open with a remarkable 3-0 (6-2, 6-4, 6-4) victory. The German, who was in the final of the hard court Grand Slam Down Under just a year ago, has made a statement and is now just one win away from reaching the last four in Melbourne for the third year in a row.
However, Alexander Zverev’s match against Learner Tien is not a sure thing for the Hamburg native. After all, his young American challenger recently sent none other than three-time Australian Open finalist (2021, 2022, and 2024) Daniil Medvedev home with a 3-0 victory.
Learner Tien, who a year ago became the youngest Australian Open quarterfinalist of all time since Rafael Nadal (2005), has already won six singles matches at the Australian Open, with only one defeat. Nevertheless, experience and current form suggest that the German can put the 20-year-old Californian in his place.
We are expecting a result of 3:1 or 3:0 and are therefore placing a handicap of -1.5 sets on the German number one in our main recommendation.
As we fully expect the Hamburg native to live up to his role as favorite in this quarterfinal and take the lead, an alternative tip would be to bet on Sascha winning the first set. The Bet-at-home app offers odds of 1.55 for Alexander Zverev against Learner Tien. Apart from his opening match against Gabriel Diallo, the German has always won the first set in the subsequent rounds. Most recently, he even won 6-2 against Francisco Cerundolo.
Alexander Zverev – Learner Tien Head-to-head comparison / H2H statistics
Head to head: 1:1
The two athletes have crossed paths twice so far, with both matches dating back to the 2025 season. After Alexander Zverev suffered a surprise 0-2 defeat (3-6, 4-6) at a hard court tournament in Acapulco, the German got his revenge in the first round of the 2025 French Open. Sascha ended Learner Tien’s tournament with a straight 3:0 victory (6:3, 6:3 and 6:4).
Alexander Zverev – Learner Tien Tip
Basically, our prediction for Alexander Zverev against Learner Tien is that Alexander Zverev will reach the semifinals again, having lost only one service game in the round of 16 against Francisco Cerundolo and winning countless free points with his powerful first serve in particular. Sascha only had to use his second serve 17 times during the match and even then scored in ten cases with an impressive rate of 59 percent. However, the young Californian also only lost one service game against Daniil Medvedev and achieved a sensational 52 percent of return points won against the Russian. It is clear that the German will also have to be fully focused on his own serve.
Although Learner Tien is certainly a player who can compete for major titles in the medium term, the 20-year-old American still lacks the composure to consistently stand up to the top stars of the ATP Tour on such big stages. We therefore assume that the German’s experience will prevail and would even give the Hamburg native a handicap of -1.5 sets.
