Practice loser punishment: Learner Tien forced to apologise to Taylor Fritz after he 'completely wasted his time'

Learner Tien seemed to be on the wrong end of a practice match result against Taylor Fritz. The American duo were squeezing their last preparations for the very serious US Open, but a comedic punishment was in store for Tien who came out second best.

It is common for these top players to take to the court for some practice matches ahead of a big tournament such as the US Open, finetuning their game and making sure that they are in the perfect condition to fight and compete on court.

There was a lighthearted punishment to motivate both Fritz and Tien when they competed against each other. The pair will have high hopes to perform valiantly on home soil, but this time round it was the more senior and higher ranked American who prevailed on the day.

While the result does not normally matter, this time there was a bit of spice added into it with a punishment in store for the 20-year-old. This was sending out a message on his Instagram page apologising to Fritz.

"Hey guys, I just need to say something. I want to apologise to Taylor for the very poor practice I gave him today. He was just too good for me today. I had no chance really. Just completely wasted his time and hopefully I can work really hard and one day I can, you know, hope to reach and have maybe an ounce of the talent he has."

Behind the scene camerawork pictured a smug Fritz glaring on as his defeated practice partner spoke into the camera, satisfied with his days work.

It is set to be a big tournament for the Americans in New York, with Fritz and Tien two of the top contenders who could even have an outside shot at glory.

That can definitely be said for Fritz who reached the final back in 2024, losing out to an imperious Jannik Sinner who is not competing in this edition. He was dumped out at the quarter-final stage last year to four-time winner Novak Djokovic and will hope to make it further this time around.

His grass swing was a much more positive one, but no titles was a bitter pill to swallow as he lost to Ben Shelton in Stuttgart and Frances Tiafoe in Halle, two other Americans who will be closely followed. However, a first title of the year came at the DC Open against Rafael Jodar. This was not backed up with deep runs in either of the Masters 1000 events in Montreal or Cincinnati, something that Tien had better fortune with.

The young talent impressed in the Canadian Open, breaking new ground with a terrific run all the way to the semi-finals where Shelton proved to be too strong for him enroute to defending his title.

He has been a regular at the US Open since 2022, but it was not until 2025 when he started to make a big impression on the ATP Tour. Surprisingly, he has never won a match at Flushing Meadows in his five prior attempts. succumbing to Djokovic in the first round last year in an unfortunate draw.

It is not an easy first round tie this year as well with the number 14 seed facing Nuno Borges who is playing some good stuff at the moment with some recent eye-catching runs. He could be a threat for Tien who will hope to perform better than he did against Fritz. The American No.2 will tackle wildcard Darwin Blanch to kick things off with the tournament starting Sunday, 30th August.