The Tennessee Titans have hired a new head coach. The Nashville Predators are cruising but are months away from the postseason. But, Music City, you might’ve missed quite the local sports story over the last few days, as a new superstar from the mid-state has emerged, and his name is Tennys Sandgren (Hall of Fame caliber of name, too).
The 2018 edition of the Australian Open will not be crowning an American singles champion after Tennys Sandgren, the last American standing, was sent packing.
In a battle between two unseeded quarterfinalists, 58th-ranked Hyeon Chung shined in ousting the 97th-ranked Sandgren to secure his first Grand Slam semifinal spot with a 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3 win.
The 26-year-old Sandgren won four consecutive tour-level matches for the first-time in his career at this Australian Open, and enjoyed success against not just one, but two, top 10 players — Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem — for the first time as well.
Obviously, it’s not the storybook ending he would’ve hoped for, but there’s definitely something to say for defeating two top 10 players, including #5 Thiem and #9 Wawrinka. Just wild to think that he is the lowest-ranked quarterfinalist since 1996, -and- he was the last American standing.
Of course, it probably helps the sting of losing that he’ll probably end up doubling his career prize money in one tournament. But, for a guy who was watching one of his opponents win major tournaments two years ago, this experience is just as amazing as it is unlikely.
Courtesy of The New York Times:
Tennys Sandgren, ranked 97th, said he watched Stan Wawrinka win the 2016 United States Open final in a bar.
“I was having a few beers,” Sandgren said of Wawrinka’s third major win. “I was watching the tennis, thinking: That’s insane — an inhuman level of tennis.”
Insane to think that he was just hanging out in a bar watching Wawrinka win the United States Open, and this year, he’s defeating the guy whose play he admired.
Just an all-around great tournament for the Tennesseean. And, as for the alt-right tweeting “scandal,” I’ll let y’all dig into that and make of it what you will.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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