In ‘Lockdown Mode’, Tien Ties It Up With Day 2 Gem

With such luminaries as Thierry Henry, Sir Ian McKellen, Jeff Goldblum and Roger Federer looking on, Cobolli managed to reclaim one of those breaks for 2-4, punctuated by a down-the-line forehand winner.

Official response and confirmed impact

But serving to stay in the stanza at 3-5, 15-40, he surrendered the set when Tien dropped in an unreachable backhand volley.

Cobolli asserted himself in the second set with a break of his own for 2-1 and would eventually force the 10-point tiebreak.

It was the third of four singles matches over Days 1-2 to go the distance.

But Tien would stand steady from the baseline, in self-described “lockdown mode”, lifted all along by the courtside presence of Team World Captain Andre Agassi.

“It’s amazing. He’s gave me more energy,” said Tien, who saved four of seven break points against the seventh-ranked Cobolli.

“It’s great to have a voice on the sidelines always encouraging you.”

Tien is in the midst of a breakout campaign that has seen him reach his first career Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals at the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.