Tennis: Jannik Sinner blitzes past Learner Tien into the semi-finals at Indian Wells 2026

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 might be over, but that didn’t stop Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner from doing his best impression of women’s Alpine skiing star Federica Brignone, as he raced to a straight sets 6-1, 6-2 victory against Learner Tien in the men’s singles quarter-finals at Indian Wells on Thursday (12 March).

Wrapping up proceedings in just over one hour of play – one hour and six minutes to be exact – Sinner proved he could handle the desert heat, along with whatever his opponents throw at him in the coming matches, as he chases his first title at Indian Wells.

The World No. 2 dominated the match on all fronts, racking up ten aces and four break points to win 61.9 percent of all points played during the quarter-final tussle, with Tien giving up five double faults to win only 49 percent of points on service.

The win served as a major confidence boost for the four-time Grand Slam champion, after a tricky Round of 16 match requiring two tie-break wins against Brazil’s Joao Fonseca on Tuesday (10 March).

“We tried to prepare ourselves in the best possible way,” Sinner explained after the match. “He is a very talented player. He will be here many times, but I’m happy how I reacted.

“I feel like he was very aggressive, especially in the beginning, so I tried to hold back. An important match for me of course.”

The Italian star has yet to run the full length of the draw at Indian Wells, making it the only Masters 1000 trophy missing from his vast collection.

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