He’s the tennis star called Tennys... from Tennessee!
TENNYS SANDGREN had never won a Grand Slam match before this fortnight and has been a regular opponent of British players on the second-tier Challenger circuit. Yet the 26-year-old world No 97 from Tennessee, who is not named after the sport or where he hails from, played to a remarkably high level to defeat No 5 seed Dominic Thiem 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. If he beats Hyeon Chung to reach the semifinals, he will have more than doubled his previous career prize-money of £337,000 at a stroke. Reflecting on his dream run, Sandgren said: ‘I definitely had a real pinchme moment — wow, this is hopefully real. If I wake up now, I’m going to be real upset.’