Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen were born about 15 months apart and first crossed paths a decade ago when they were playing in Southern California tennis tournaments for kids.
Tien, now 19, and Michelsen, 20, are close friends, frequently play the video game Fortnite together, trained with each other all offseason at the Tier 1 academy in Orange County and, once again, are competing in the same event — except this time, it is on a Grand Slam stage, and on Monday, they'll both be participating in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
