American teenager underwhelms against Novak Djokovic at U.S. Open

As American men's tennis enjoys a newfound resurgence, 19-year-old Learner Tien has been earmarked as a future star. The teenager announced his arrival at the start of the year, becoming the youngest player since Rafael Nadal to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open. Tien also became the youngest American since Pete Sampras to reach the fourth round of a major, putting the tennis world on notice.

On Sunday, all eyes were on Tien as he entered his home major not as a qualifier, but as a top-50-ranked player in the world. While nobody expected him to beat Novak Djokovic, his childhood idol, fans at Flushing Meadows were eager to see a fight from the youngster.

Alas, the Arthur Ashe crowd witnessed an underwhelming performance from Tien, who failed to capitalize on the Serbian's erratic play and recurring health issues. After winning the first set quickly, Djokovic committed 20 unforced errors in the second set alone, giving the American plenty of chances to square things up. Instead, Tien blew three set points and lost a tiebreaker before dropping the third set quickly, losing 6-1, 7-6, 6-3 to the four-time U.S. Open winner.

Before the third set, Djokovic needed a medical timeout to treat a blister on his toe, which affected his footwork and balance. Yet, Tien couldn't seize the opportunity against a 38-year-old man who played his first ATP match before he was born in 2005.