Learner Tien’s first appearance in the California desert, in 2025, ended without a victory. The Irvine, California native hopes that his second stay in Tennis Paradise will last a little longer.

So far, so good.

20-year-old Tien edged past Australia’s Adam Walton on Friday, 7-6(3), 7-6(8), saving a pair of set points in the second set before notching his 50th career ATP victory.

Tien said that the pressure of playing 100 miles from where he grew up, in front of friends and family, made the experience a little bit different. 

“It's never easy to play, I guess, at home in a sense, just because there is a little extra pressure,” he said. “You want to win, want to do well, obviously. But on the other hand, you obviously like to play with the crowd, with home support.”

27th-ranked Tien will face Ben Shelton in the third round.

Shelton, a quarterfinalist last year in the California desert, overcame the ballistic serving of Reilly Opelka - and a dangerous fall on the hard courts late in the third set – to win 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-3. 

The No. 8-seeded American withstood 23 aces from 68th-ranked Opelka and never faced a break point in the two hour and 12-minute contest. 

Tien, seeded 25th, won his only previous meeting with Shelton, in 2025 on the grass of Mallorca.

In the first match on Stadium 3 on Friday, clever southpaw Tien a third set with some clutch tennis in front of a partisan crowd. He saved a pair of set points against Walton, the second with an electric forehand crosscourt winner, and took the final three points to clinch the win in one hour and 44 minutes.

There were only two breaks converted in the match, and they came in the first two games of the second set. Tien hit nine backhand winners to just two for Walton, and also chipped in 14 forehand winners to seven for the Aussie.

Zverev Outs Berrettini

No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev kicked off festivities on Stadium 1, defeating former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, 6-3, 6-4. The Italian was the talk of the tournament on Wednesday after full-body cramps left him lying prone on the court at the conclusion of his first-round win over Adrian Mannarino.

On Friday he couldn’t put a dent in the German’s serve. Berrettini won just six points on return and surrendered a pair of breaks — enough to make it a straightforward victory for Zverev.

“I think he's somebody that is difficult, especially for me,” Zverev said of Berrettini. “He beat me the last two times. Definitely happy with kind of a straightforward win.”

Cobolli Rides Hot Hand, Musetti Upset

Italy’s Flavio Cobolli was limping through the season a month ago, hindered by a four-match losing streak and smothered in doubt.

That’s all in the past now. Cobolli claimed his third career title last week in Acapulco and simultaneously changed the complexion of his season. He continued his momentum on Friday, securing his sixth consecutive win by defeating Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

In the first big upset of a seeded player on the men's side, No. 5 seed Lorenzo Musetti was topped by Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, 7-5, 6-1. The Italian, playing his first match since the Australian Open, drops to 3-6 lifetime at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and 7-3 on the season.

Fucsovics earns his first Top 10 win on hard courts in 22 tries, and earns his biggest career win since 2020.