World No.3 Alexander Zverev brought his A-game to the Rod Laver Arena in the quarterfinal clash against America’s youngster Learner Tien. The left-hander did give Zverev a run for his money but the German prevailed 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-6(3) to qualify for the Australian Open semifinals for the third consecutive time.

Zverev smashed 24 aces during the contest as he catapulted some bullets in Melbourne Park. After winning the first set, Zverev had a two-point lead in the second set tiebreaker but Tien came up with some brilliant ground shots from the baseline to draw level.

In the third set, it was a one-way traffic and Zverev also clinched the fourth set in the tiebreaker to advance in the tournament.

“Learner from the baseline was playing unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve played anyone who plays that well from the baseline for a very long time,” Zverev said of the 20-year-old, drawing huge cheers from the crowd. “Without my [24] aces, I probably would not have won today. I’m obviously very happy with my serve, just generally happy to be back in the semis.”

Zverev will next take on World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz on Friday.

On the other hand, Learner Tien said he doesn’t feel any weight of the expectations on his shoulders after qualifying for the quarterfinals. Tien had stunned former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round.

“I don’t think about it too much,” Tien said when addressing that question in his post-match presser following his four-set loss to Zverev. “I don’t feel like a weight on my shoulder by any means. I’m very fortunate to be in the position that I’m in and I think I lead a pretty special life that a lot of people don’t get to live. I think it’s great just to go around and travel and play tennis. I just enjoy that as much as I can.”