The rather aptly-named professional men’s tennis player from the United States, Tennys Sandgren recently married his girlfriend in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday, December 2. Congratulations flew in from all corners of the tennis world as the American tied the knot. Arguably, Sandgren’s moment in the sun was his match against 20-time Grand Slam champion, Roger Federer.
Entering the 2020 Australian Open ranked World No.100, Sandgren made it to the quarterfinals. After scoring upsets over Italians, Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini, he crossed paths with Roger Federer. The Swiss icon joked about Sandgren’s name during the post-match interview after his Round of 16 win.
John McEnroe, hosting the interview, said Sandgren has the greatest name in tennis and lightheartedly praised his parents. Federer said he was not going to play baseball, surely. He joked that he played tennis many times but never faced ‘Tennys’. The 20-time Grand Slam champion could not hold it together after his joke.
“He was not gonna be a baseball player, that’s for sure, with that name. It’s unreal actually. I am looking forward to play him, I’ve never played against Tennys. I’ve played a lot of tennis in my life, but never against Tennys.”
A different kind of ‘Tennys’ for @rogerfederer #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/zuKtfSERd3
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 26, 2020
“Ohh maann,” said Federer as he could not collect himself between giggles and McEnroe cut short the interview as he kept laughing. He and Sandgren played out a thrilling five-set quarter-final over three and a half hours. Federer won a regulation first set and looked like he would run away.
Tennys, though, bounced back with his powerful serves and strong baseline game. He bagged the second and third sets as his legendary opponent made 30 unforced errors across the two sets. Federer uncharacteristically let his frustration boil over and received a code violation for an audible obscenity.
Sandgren was on the verge of a historic result with three match points at 5-4 in the fourth set. He, however, failed to convert any and then it went to the tiebreak. The American again dominated Federer, racing ahead to a 6-3 lead to have three match points once more. Again, he failed to convert to secure a massive upset. The Swiss saved a seventh match point before winning the set to restore parity.
Losing the set and letting the match slip despite so many opportunities seemed to have shaken Sandgren. He meekly surrendered the decider and lost 6-3, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-3. Regardless, he had given the Melbourne crowd a match they will never forget and Federer a scare he will always remember.
Roger Federer admitted to being lucky against Tennys Sandgren
The five-setter against Tennys Sandgren took a toll on Roger Federer. The latter was evidently exhausted in his semifinal match against Novak Djokovic. He bowed out in straight sets against the Serb, who would go on to lift the 2020 Australian Open title. Federer later humbly admitted that he got lucky in his quarterfinal and said he did not deserve to win against Sandgren (Tennis World USA).
Had Sandgren won the clash, he would have achieved his best-ever Grand Slam finish. Regardless, his quarter-final runs at the 2018 and 2020 Australian Open remain his best Majors results. He also had his best ATP Masters campaign in 2020, reaching the third round of the Cincinnati Masters. His best ATP Tour performance was winning the ATP 250 Auckland Open in 2016.
Currently ranked World No. 259, Sandgren had peaked at No.41 in early 2019. Currently, he mostly competes on the Challenger Tour, having lifted four titles. Since his debut in 2011, he has collected $3,558,568 in prize money combined for singles and doubles, including around $87,000 in 2023. Tennys continues to reside in his hometown of Gallatin, Tennessee and has a net worth of about $3 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth).
