Lindsay Davenport has “always been a huge fan” of 19-year-old Learner Tien

From finalist at last year’s ATP Next Gen Finals to defeating former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open, Learner Tien is riding a wave of momentum, and tennis fans aren’t the only one taking notice.

“It seems like he burst on the pro tour pretty fast, but he has done a lot of hard work at the lower levels to get the confidence to rise,” said Tennis Channel analyst Lindsay Davenport.

On a media call ahead of next week's BNP Paribas Open, Davenport noted how Tien’s journey to the Top 100 was a thoughtful one.

“Learner took advantage of a lot of the summer circuit in California, all these 15Ks, 25Ks that are played,” she said. “He stayed close to home for a long time. He's just slowly built his confidence kind of at every level. He's been successful at every level he's played at.”

The Davenport and Tien families have come to know one another over the years, with their first introduction during the early stages of his fast-ascending game.

“I have known Learner since he was in the 14 and unders,” Davenport said. “I used to drive him to USTA practice and Carson, with my son. We would carpool.”

“He's always been wildly talented. The shots that he was able to hit, you would laugh at in the juniors. Nobody is hitting these crazy angles and these drop shots.”

What separates Tien, she said, is that his intelligence off-court is just as impressive, “two grades ahead of where he should be.”

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Tien will make his main-draw debut at the BNP Paribas Open, earning a wild card to this year’s event. And as a California native, he’s expected to draw in the crowds.

“To see him be able to put it together and get more power on his shots as well to be able to hang in there with the pros has been fun to see,” Davenport said. “I've always been a huge fan.”

Tien isn’t the only young American she’ll be watching at the BNP Paribas Open, as Alex Michelsen is also making waves. The 20 years old is just 110 points away from breaking into the Top 30.

Michelsen kicked off his Grand Slam season by knocking out former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening round of the Australian Open, and eventually joined Tien in their second-week debuts at a major tournament.

Alex Michelsen & Learner Tien: from pre-season to flying into Australian Open week 2 together

“Two kids kind of growing up in the same system in SoCal,” Davenport reminisced. “I think those guys will be wildly popular out in the desert. Everyone who is in Southern California tennis has been following them for years. I think that will be super fun to watch them out there come to Indian Wells this time and be really well-received by all the fans.”

Davenport, a former world No. 1 will also be at Indian Wells, on site with Tennis Channel—the exclusive home of the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open throughout March.

Coverage of the first combined 1000s tournaments of the year begins Wednesday, March 5.