Matching Report
Offender passes Tien in Indian Wells, sets up Zverev SF
World No. 2 is chasing his first title at the BNP Paribas Open
March 12, 2026
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Jannik Sinner defeats Student Tien to reach the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Written by Andy West
Jannik Sinner strapped on his speed skates to race past Student Tien in impressive fashion on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open.
The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings produced a top-class display full of first-strike tennis to earn a 6-1, 6-2 victory against reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Tien. Sinner, who edged Joao Fonseca in two sets in the fourth round, appeared determined not to settle for another slugfest and his aggressive style proved too hot for his 20-year-old opponent to handle.
Unblockable and unplayable 🥶@janniksin Advance to the Indian Wells semi-finals with a flawless 6-1, 6-2 win over Tien! @BNPPARIBASOPEN | #TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/6UDKdx76u3
– ATP Tour (@atptour) March 12, 2026
“I feel I have experience [of the matchup] it helps a little,” said Sinner, who also took down Tien in straight sets in the final in Beijing last October. “Otherwise, we tried to prepare as best we could. He is a very talented player. He will be here many times, but I am happy with the way I reacted. I felt that he was aggressive, especially in the beginning, so I tried to control myself. It’s a really important game for me.”
Tien’s bid to win the first Lexus ATP Head2Head against Sinner was undermined early on when the American lefty gave Sinner a break with a double fault in the second game. Soni didn’t look back there and wrapped up the win in 66 minutes after converting four of his five break points, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The 24-year-old Italian will face fourth seed Alexander Zverev in his BNP Paribas Open tournament debut.
After reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals with straight sets wins against Ben Shelton and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Tien appeared to be struggling physically as the second set of Thursday’s match wore on. The American couldn’t resist the relentless power and precision of Sinner’s groundstrokes, and the Italian rarely looked troubled on his way to winning his ninth consecutive Masters 1000 match.
“We got here early in the morning,” said Sinner, when asked how he coped with the hot conditions at Indian Wells on Thursday. “It was very hot the week before the tournament, so we had long practice sessions trying to get used to the body. Today I felt good on the field. It’s definitely a place I’m trying to improve considering the problems I had in Australia.
“I believe that these are good things, small doors where we have to improve. I am happy with the way we prepared for the games and of course the next one will be difficult.”
Awaiting Sinner in the ‘Tennis Paradise’ final will be fourth seed Zverev, who got past Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-3. The 28-year-old Zverev, who became just the fifth player to complete a semi-final set in all nine Masters 1000 events with victory over the 30th-seeded Fils, will have his five-game losing streak snapped against Sinner in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Sinner has taken five of the six Masters 1000 titles, with the Indian Wells trophy the only one missing from his collection. If he can defeat Zverev and go on to lift the trophy on Sunday in the California desert, he will become only the third man after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to complete that set.
