Match Report
Sinner surges past Tien in Indian Wells, sets Zverev SF
World No. 2 is chasing his maiden title at BNP Paribas Open
March 12, 2026
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Jannik Sinner defeats Learner Tien to reach the BNP Paribas Open semi-finals.
By Andy West
Jannik Sinner strapped on his speed skates to race past Learner Tien in emphatic fashion on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open.
The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings produced a classy display packed with first-strike tennis to earn a 6-1, 6-2 triumph against reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Tien. Sinner, who edged Joao Fonseca in two tie-break sets in the fourth round, appeared determined not to get bogged down in another slugfest and his aggressive approach proved too hot for his 20-year-old opponent to handle.
Tien’s bid for a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head victory against Sinner was undermined early when the American lefty gifted Sinner a break with a double fault in the second game. Sinner hardly looked back from there and he wrapped his 66-minute win having converted four of five break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
Having reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final by grinding out back-to-back three-set wins against Ben Shelton and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Tien seemed to struggle physically as the second set of Thursday’s encounter wore on. The American was unable to counter the relentless power and precision of Sinner’s groundstrokes, and the Italian rarely looked troubled on his way to a ninth consecutive Masters 1000 match win.
Awaiting Sinner in the last four in ‘Tennis Paradise’ will be fourth seed Alexander Zverev, who earlier eased past Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-3. The 28-year-old Zverev, who became just the fifth player to complete the set of semi-final appearances at all nine Masters 1000 events by overcoming 30th seed Fils, will bid to snap a five-match losing streak against Sinner in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Sinner has captured five of the six Masters 1000 titles, with the Indian Wells trophy being the only one missing from his collection. Should he overcome Zverev and go on to lift the trophy on Sunday in the California desert, he would become just the third man after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to complete that set.
