Tien Wins Unforgettable First ATP Title, Holds Off Norrie In Metz Thriller

Learner Tien
Learner Tien (photo: Chryslène Caillaud)

METZ/WASHINGTON, November 8, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

From the outset of 22nd and final edition of the ATP 250 Moselle Open in northeastern France Saturday, the overall quality of play exhibited by twin lefties Learner Tien and Cameron Norrie gave the capacity crowd of 4,300 fans that flocked to Les Arenes de Metz plenty to cheer about.

In their fourth meeting of the 2025 season – and with Tien bringing to the title final a 2-1 head-to-head advantage – the 19-year-old American lefty became the ninth first-time champion on the ATP Tour this year by defeating the World No. 27 Norrie from Great Britain, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6), in two hours and 10 minutes. In was his third-straight triumph over the Norrie – and the first time that one of their matches went three sets – but it didn’t come easy.

In capturing his first tour-level title in just his second final after Beijing earlier this season, Tien become the second-youngest player to win the Moselle Open after Novak Djokovic in 2006. He’s also the first American teenager to win an ATP Tour title since Andy Roddick in 2002 at Houston. 

The 38th-ranked Tien secured for himself a new career-high ranking at No. 28, making his ATP Top 30 debut on Monday. Meanwhile, it was the second-straight time the 30-year-old Norrie came up short in the Metz final, after losing to France’s Benjamin Bonzi in the 2024 title match.

“I’m so relieved, I’m so happy, I’m so tired,” Tien expressed during an on-court interview moments after beating Norrie. Soon after he secured match point, Tien raced over to share a congratulatory hug with his coach, Hall of Famer Michael Chang, who joined Tien’s team in August.

“I’m so happy, I’ll remember this for a very long time,” Tien added.

Tien overcame 48 unforced errors by hitting 23 winners – including seven aces – and won 74 percent (53 of 72) of his first-serve points. He saved seven of the nine break points he faced and converted two of four break-point chances against Norrie. By comparison, Norrie hit 25 winners – 14 of them from his forehand side – but also made 40 unforced errors, including a couple of costly ones during the final-set tie-break. Norrie outpointed Tien 101-96 but it wasn’t enough to win the title.

After winning a 28-shot, back-and-forth “anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better” rally, Tien not only held serve to win the opening game of the match, he quickly  broke Norrie to go ahead 3-1 a few games later. Then, he consolidated the break for a 4-1 lead after just 15 minutes of play. Soon, Tien increased it to 5-2. While Norrie powered a forehand winner to gain a break point against Tien as the Californian served for the first set, Tien fought off the challenge. He won the 29-minute opener 6-3 after Norrie faltered while hitting wide a sixth-shot forehand return. It was one of nine unforced errors by the Briton in the fist set. 

In the second set, Norrie gained a sextet of break points during a lengthy, 13-minute 20-point fourth game before finally breaking Tien’s serve. Norrie’s persistence paid off as he finally got the break he desperately sought. He consolidated it in straight-forward fashion at love to gain a 4-1 advantage. Soon, Norrie increased his lead to 5-2 with a solid hold by spreading out the court on Tien. Also, he continued to be effective in winning points on his second serve.

Norrie’s first ace of the match set up three set points, but he needed just one of them. That’s because his second ace – and 12th winner of the stanza – closed out the 38-minute middle set 6-3, and it set the stage for a decider. It would be the first time in four meetings that Norrie and Tien had gone the distance. 

As the third set unfolded in the final chapter at Metz, Tien gained a pair of break points at 15-40 in Norrie’s first service game and converted the first opportunity after the British No. 2 slapped a third-shot backhand wide. Now, with an early break lead, could Tien take advantage of his opportunity to go ahead 3-0? Yes. Tien shut down Norrie by consolidating the break. He took advantage of a couple of unforced errors by his opponent. 

Now, needing to win just three more games to garner his first ATP Tour singles title, Tien remained composed and continued to fight for every point. He went ahead 4-1 with a deft, inside-out forehand drop shot winner. Then Tien gained a couple of break points at 15-40 after Norrie made his 12th unforced error of the set. However, Norrie pushed back and held his serve. Then, he broke Tien after the teenager was unable to will a forehand drop shot over the net when he held a game point. Back on serve at 3-4, Norrie remained focused and consolidated matters for 4-all. Now, it seemed it was anyone’s title for the taking.

Norrie gained a break point in Tien’s next service game, winning a 21-shot rally after Tien missed with a backhand slice from deep near the baseline. However, Tien gained a deuce point with a serve Norrie was unable to handle and held to move to within a game of the title, leading 5-4. Next, Norrie held at 30 and it was dead even at 5-all. Soon, Tien earned at least a third-set tie-break with a solid hold for a 6-5 lead. But Norrie responded with an easy hold of his own and the final was dead even. Fittingly, the final Metz title would be decided by a tiebreaker.

Although Norrie gained an early double mini-break lead in the decisive moment, the tiebreaker was far from being over. Instead, from 1-5 down – and with the match and title clearly on Norrie’s racquet – Tien survived a rollercoaster finish. He rallied to win seven of the last eight points – including the final two – after Norrie netted back-t0-back returns that denied him from winning his sixth ATP Tour singles title. Tien closed out the victory on his second championship point opportunity.

Tien’s late comeback was an emotional and gratifying one. He improved his win-loss record to 32-23 with December’s Next Gen ATP Finals looming and Tien sitting solidly in third place in the PIF ATP Live Race to Jeddah. Meanwhile, Norrie finished his 2025 season 34-26 and ranked 27th in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, which should guarantee he’ll be seeded at the Australian Open.

“Obviously, you’re always feeling very motivated to come out and play a final,” Tien said. “Today was no different. I mean, I thought Cam played really good, especially in the second set. He kind of dragged out my hand a little bit. I’m really happy I was able to recover and got a good start in the third.”

In accepting his runner-up trophy for the second straight year, Norrie gave props to Tien. “Learner, congrats man,” he said. “It was a battle today. You’re so tough and I’m so proud you could win today. You had an amazing first year on the tour. We started the year playing against each other – and we finished it. I have so much respect for you and I think you’re going to be an amazing player. I love your game and this is just the beginning for you. Keep going, keep pushing and congrats on winning the title. You deserved it in the end.”

Halys and Herbert win first doubles title as a team

Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France, who made their team debut at last week’s Rolex Paris Masters, won their first doubles title together in their first ATP Tour doubles final.

On Saturday afternoon, the unseeded French duo defeated No. 3 seeds Guido Andreozzi of Argentina and Manuel Guinard of France, who were also playing in their first tour-level final, 7-5, 6-3, in 67 minutes on Court Central to lift their first trophy together.

Halys and Herbert (7-1) became the first French team to win their Metz doubles title since Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in 2018. They combined to hit eight aces, won all but two points (31 of 33, 94 percent) on their first serve and faced no break points. They broke Andreozzi and Guinard (11-7) three times and four opportunities. Halys and Herbert outpointed their opponents 66-43.

En route to the Metz crown, Halys and Herbert rallied from a set down to win their first round match, and saved two match points to win their semifinal over No. 2 seeds and defending champions Sander Arends of the Netherlands and Luke Johnson of Great Britain.

Halys, 29, was playing in his first ATP Tour doubles final, while Herbert, 34, was appearing in his 35th. He’s now won 25 tour-level doubles titles.

By the numbers

• Since 2022, there have been only six ATP Tour singles finals contested between two left-handed players. Cameron Norrie has been involved in two of them. First, Norrie played Alex Molcan in the 2022 Lyon final. Saturday, he played Learner Tien in the Metz final.

• Saturday’s capacity crowd of 4,300 that filled  Les Arenes de Metz for the singles final helped the event set a weeklong attendance record in its final edition. According to the ATP Tour world feed TV broadcast, a total of 48,344 fans attended this year’s tournament.

“Quotable …”

• “We’ve played three times this year and they’ve all been close matches. He actually handed me my first loss of the year. So, it’s funny we’re playing each other in the last match of the year. I’m looking forward to it.”

– Learner Tien of the United States, during his on-court interview, after defeating Vitaliy Sachko of Ukraine to reach Saturday’s final against Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie.

• “It was an amazing atmosphere here. I gave it absolutely everything every match. Thank you for bringing the energy. I know it’s the last tournament in Metz, but it definitely shows how much you guys love tennis. Thank  you for backing me. So many good people here, so many special people.”

– Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, during his runner-up trophy speech thanking the Metz fans, after losing the Moselle Open final to Learner Tien.

 

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