Grand Slam events can bring out many unexpected moments. Be it controversies or some shocking events, the major tournaments have it all. One such similar situation occurred earlier today at the Australian Open. The American sensation Learner Tien was up against Corentin Moutet of France in the third round of the tournament and he dispatched the challenge of Moutet in straight sets 7-6 (10), 6-3, 6-3. However, in the post-match press conference, Moutet made a shocking revelation, as he talked about an unexpected health condition that he suffered ahead of this match.

During the match, Tien was at his absolute best. Despite the fact Moutet had a greater experience on the tour, it was Tien who displayed some amazing tennis skills. Moutet, anyway, hadn’t come into the match in the best of health conditions.

During an interview after his third round encounter, Moutet broke silence about his health scare, saying, “The day was so difficult and special. I felt unwell 45 minutes before the match, in the shower. I woke up on the floor. Everything was black, I couldn’t see well. It’s strange because I felt ready and fit, I didn’t have any aches, nothing. I showered an hour and a half before the match. And I have a gap in my memory. I just know that I spent 15 minutes in the dark and I don’t know what happened. It’s a first and it’s very surprising.”

As a result, there was much panic in Moutet’s team and he took careful steps during the warm-up as well. In order to regain stability, Moutet even underwent balance exercises ahead of the match. With him not being in the best of rhythms, Tien took full advantage of the situation to burst into the next round. Moutet himself credited Tien for putting on an amazing show in the match.

“What a player. He has just arrived on the tour but I have a lot of respect. I gave it my all, I don’t have much to blame myself for. We fought a good fight and he was the best in all areas. I believed in it until the last point, but he was the one who won this intense battle,” Moutet said.

Learner Tien has been the talk of the town last few days. Before putting on an absolute crackerjack of a performance against Moutet, he pulled off an upset for the ages earlier in the tournament, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the second round. Following the win, Tien delivered a strong verdict on his journey in the tournament.

Learner Tien had nothing to lose against Daniil Medvedev

Following his massive win over Daniil Medvedev, Tien became the youngest American man to reach the third round of the Australian Open, since Pete Sampras. At 19, he is already creating history and might go a long way in the tournament. Despite coming up against a player of Medvedev’s stature, Tien never lost the belief to not win the contest.

During an interview, he revealed, “Belief is a big thing in succeeding and winning, in general. I always go on the court believing that there’s a chance I can win. I wasn’t trying to think of the match as anything more important than any other match I’ve ever played. I was just going to go out there, have fun, see what I could do. It was either going to be celebratory or a binge-y, like, cope. It feels better it’s more celebratory, for sure.”

The American sensation will go up against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round now. It’ll be interesting to see how far he reaches in the tournament. Are you backing him to pull off a few more upsets?