ASB Classic is Tennys’ tournament

WELLINGTON: Tennys Sandgren’s domination of the ASB Classic is complete after thumping Briton Cameron Norrie in a onesided final in Auckland.

The man with the most apt name in the sport won 64, 62 to clinch a maiden ATP title on Saturday, hinting he is ready for another strong assault on the Australian Open.

Sandgren rose to prominence for on and offcourt reasons in Melbourne 12 months ago.

As well as a giantkilling run to the quarterfinals, the Tennessee native was forced into defence mode when questioned about his Twitter activity, where it was noted he followed a number of altright organisations and individuals.

Sandgren explained at the time he found some of the accounts ‘‘interesting’’, but that such beliefs were incompatible with his Christian faith. He later deleted his account.

Sandgren went on to enjoy a solid 2018, climbing to 63rd in the world after reaching a maiden final in Houston.

He went one better against the 93rdranked Norrie, using the impregnable serving game that had carried him to five straightset wins this week.

Sandgren expressed disbelief at making a breakthrough which had taken longer than ideal in coming.

‘‘A lot of work, a lot of training and a lot of sacrifice goes into even making the final. To get a win, I’m kind of speechless,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m just grateful to be able to play and compete. I’ve dealt with some injuries so playing well feels really good.

‘‘It helps to serve well— it makes up for some of my other shortcomings.’’

Sandgren thanked his Australian coach Carsten Ball, who he linked with two weeks ago.

‘‘It’s going well so far,’’ he said. It was the first final appearance for Aucklandraised lefthander Norrie, who captured crowd support this week despite switching allegiance to Great Britain six years ago.

He was let down by unforced errors in the decider, meaning he never threatened what would have been a fourth successive win over Sandgren.

Sandgren will face 75thranked Yoshihito Nishioka, of Japan, in the first round of the Australian Open.

Norrie’s debut in the main draw is against 50thranked American Taylor Fritz, the man he beat in the Auckland quarterfinals on Thursday. — AAP

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES Tennys, tournament winner . . . Tennys Sandgren, of the US, poses with the trophy after winning his Men’s Singles Final against Cameron Norrie, of Great Britain, at the 2019 ASB Classic on Saturday in Auckland. To represent his Nashville heritage, he is wearing a Johnny Cash Tshirt which he had in his gear bag for a year, planning to put it on once he won his first title.