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Learner Tien vs Abedellah Shelbayh: Las Vegas Challenger – Semifinal
Learner Tien and Abedellah Shelbayh will play for a spot in the final of the Las Vegas Challenger.
Learner Tien Profile
Learner Tien is 193rd in the ATP rankings, two spots lower than his career high. The 18-year-old is 42-7 for the season and 42-6 on hard surface.
Tien is coming off a 7-5 ret. win over Bernard Tomic in the quarterfinals. Earlier in the tournament, he defeated Cannon Kingsley and Alex Rybakov.
Tien won the Bloomfield Challenger earlier this season and four Futures tournaments.
Abedellah Shelbayh Profile
Abedellah Shelbayh is 204th in the ATP rankings and his career high was No. 181 in the world. The Jordanese is 31-24 for the season and 16-10 on hard surface.
Shelbayh is coming off a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win over Dennis Kudla in the quarterfinals. Previously in the tournament, he defeated Marek Gengel and Trey Hilderbrand.
Shelbayh’s best result this season was the semifinal at the Little Rock Challenger where he lost to Mitchell Krueger.
Head-to-Head De Minaur leads 3-0
This will be the first match between Learner Tien and Abedellah Shelbayh.
Prediction and Conclusion
Abedellah Shelbayh was one of the most promising young players in recent years, but he has yet to develop into a player who would reach the ATP level. Learner Tien is on the same path, but it seems like the American has a brighter future. He is absolutely dominant on this level and has a high level of confidence playing on hard surfaces in his home land. Tien will have full control of this match and win in straight sets.
