Learner Tien joins rare company with second straight Next Gen final

Learner Tien has become the first player since 2019 to reach consecutive ATP Next Gen Finals.

The 19-year-old, who has one ATP title to his name, also made it to the final last year, where he was beaten by Joao Fonseca 2-4, 4-3, 4-0, 4-2.

De Minaur reached his first final in 2018 after wins over Taylor Fritz and Jaume Munar. He lost the championship match to Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-4, 4-1, 4-3, 4-3.

He returned the following year after defeating Frances Tiafoe but fell short again with a straight sets defeat to future world number one Jannik Sinner.

Sinner and de Minaur react to 2019 ATP Next Gen Finals

After losing the final in 2019, the ‘Demon’ offered a frank assessment while speaking to reporters post-match.

De Minaur said: “I think it’s honestly a pretty simple match to evaluate. The biggest difference, I had nine breakpoints and I wasn’t able to convert any of them.

“On that basis, you know, Jannik played a really, really impressive match. He was putting me under pressure very often.

“So, look, maybe if I had gotten a couple of those breakpoints early, it would have been a completely different match but ended up being that he just played too good.”

Sinner’s title win came as somewhat of a surprise due to the fact that he was the eighth seed. The Italian echoed this sentiment in his post-tournament press conference.

“I think I’m surprised, you know because it’s been an unbelievable week,” he began.

“All the players are unbelievable players. If not, they are not here.”

“I think I was the last one. You know, I was number eight seed. So I tried to have my chances and of course today I’m very happy about my game.”