Nosebleed Fighting Spirit: Asian Combat & Resilience

A young man who has just turned 20 is shaking up the Australian Open, the first major tennis tournament of the season. The protagonist is Vietnamese-American athlete Runner Tien (29th in the world), born in 2005. Tien defeated Daniil Medvedev (Russia) 3-0 (6-4 6-0 6-3) in the men’s singles round of 16 of the tournament held in Melbourne, Australia on the 25th. Initially, there were many predictions that Medvedev, ranked 12th in the world and winner of the 2021 US Open, would have the upper hand, but Tien defied expectations. This is the first time Tien has reached the quarterfinals of a major tournament (Australian Open, Paris Open, Wimbledon, US Open).

As a result, Tien became the youngest player to play in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open since Nick Kyrgios (then 19 years old, Australia) in 2015. He was recorded as the youngest American to reach the quarterfinals of a major tournament since Andy Roddick (18 years old at the time, retired) in 2001 at the US Open. The American tennis world is also excited. His mother, a teacher, named her son Learner, and American fans are praising Tien, saying, “He is a runner (student) who learns tennis at an incredible speed, and at the same time, he turns his opponents into his runners (students).” At the same time, they are highly hopeful that “a ‘divine figure’ comparable to Carlos Alcaras (Spain) and Yannick Sinner (Norway) has appeared in the United States.” Alcaras and Sinner are the ‘Big 2’ in men’s tennis who have divided the tennis world by winning four titles each in the four major tournaments over the past two years.

Tennis is a representative ‘white sport’ dominated by Western players from the United States and Europe. It is rare for an Asian player to stand out. A recent example is Chung Hyeon-do, who defeated superstar Novak Djokovic (Serbia) in the round of 16 at the 2018 Australian Open, advanced to the semifinals, and faced ‘tennis king’ Roger Federer (Switzerland) in the semifinals. Tien, who became a ray of hope for Asian tennis, is the child of refugees who came to the United States to escape the Vietnam War in the 1970s.

Thien, a Vietnamese-American born and raised in Irvine, California, is evaluated as having the strengths of both American and Asian tennis. His height is also 1m80cm. He is not small for an Asian player. Commentator Park Yong-guk analyzed, “He was born with a detailed sense unique to Asians, but he created synergy by learning American-style tennis. He is a difficult player who uses Asian ‘sophisticated play’ based on the unique ‘power’ of the United States. It gave us hope that he can play Korean and Asian tennis as well.” Tien won his first Men’s Professional Tennis (ATP) Tour title at the Moselle Open in November last year, and also reached the top at the ATP Next Gen Finals in December.

Runner Tien, who suffered a nosebleed during the race, is catching his breath after receiving temporary treatment. [AP=연합뉴스]

Tien’s teacher is coach Michael Chang (1m75cm), a Taiwanese-American. He was the first Asian player to win a major championship (1989 French Open). Chang’s strength was his strong mental power to persevere and overcome his opponent, but Tien closely resembled his teacher’s mentality. On this day, Tien suddenly started bleeding from his nose during the game. A normal player would have been embarrassed and handed the flow over to the opponent. However, Tien calmly requested a medical time-out and rested leisurely for 7 minutes. Once the bleeding stopped, I slowly returned to the court and won. Commissioner Park said, “Tien stands out not only for his mentality, but also for his footwork and stability. It’s like watching Coach Chang in his prime. This is an example that shows how important it is to receive advanced country-style education and recruit good coaches. If more opportunities are provided to Korean tennis, there are many players who will grow into the next generation.” Tien’s quarterfinal opponent is Alexander Zverev (Germany), the runner-up in the last tournament and ranked third in the world. He said, “It will be a tough game,” and “I will take on the challenge. I’m looking forward to it.”