Learner Tien is in many ways a throwback to excellent American players from the 1990s, and that is going to need to be what he is to win many titles. Like Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, and Tien's coach, Michael Chang, he cannot hit as hard as players like Carlos Alcaraz, but he moves well and stays in points by not usually beating himself.
He wasn't able to do that in the first set of his second-round match at the 2026 Miami Open, though. Facing 30-year-old Kamil Majchrzak, the 20-year-old Tien allowed his opponent to dictate play by being pushed deep on his side of the court.
Tien isn't one to make many errors, but he was destroying himself in set one with eight winners but 17 unforced errors. Majchrzak had only three and four, respectively, but he simply wanted to keep extending points, while Tien seemed to think he needed to go big to close points out.
Kamil Majchrzak defeats Learner Tien in the second round of the 2026 Miami Open
The start of the second set was much better for the young American. He didn't drop a point on his serve until the set was 3-2 and after Tien had gotten a break off his Polish opponent.
To be fair, Majchrzak is arguably playing the best tennis of his career in 2026. He has reached a career-high of 55, and was playing like a top-30 player against the No. 21-ranked Learner Tien. Even more, he was playing smarter than his opponent.
Things got weird in the middle of the second set for both players, however. After Tien broke Majchrzak, the Pole broke back in the next game, and then the American got another break. After a set and a half, Majchrzak was serving brilliantly, but he was suddenly struggling, and Tien was taking advantage.
Learner Tien's cool efficiency was becoming a real concern for Kamil Majchrzak by the end of the second set, which the American took 6-3. Tien didn't stop hitting big, but picked his spots better, and finished with 15 winners against just 10 unforced errors. He had more power than his opponent, and it was beginning to make a difference.
Until it didn't. To open the third set, Tien played as if the second set had never happened, and he was simply playing in the extended form of the first set. Down 0-1, he made two critical errors on his own serve, dipping in form and concentration at the worst time. Majchrzak got the break and then consolidated that with a hold in his next game to suddenly lead 3-0.
The difference in the match was that Kamil Majchrzak's form never greatly fluctuated while Learner Tien's did. The Pole played better in the bigger points, and in the third set, he got two breaks to finish the match off 6-2. He will next play the winner of the Quentin Halys versus Alejandro Davidovich Fokina match in the third round.