Last Thursday, Tennys Sandgren was checking an app to see the US Open draw when it came out. At Wimbledon, the Houston finalist drew eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the first round, and it appeared he’d had the same luck again.
“My coach goes you know you’re playing Novak again first round,” Sandgren remembered. “I’m like, ‘Again? Really?’ And it turns out that was wrong.”
The app had the Wimbledon draw listed as the US Open draw. But what Sandgren didn’t know was that when the draw did actually come out, he’d be slated to face two-time Flushing Meadows titlist Djokovic in the second round.
Sandgren is no stranger to the big stages. At the Australian Open, where he entered having never won a Grand Slam match, the American advanced to the quarter-finals as the World No. 97. But competing in just his second US Open main draw, Sandgren claimed his first victory in New York on Tuesday, defeating Viktor Troicki. So while he made a massive run in Melbourne, there’s something special in walking onto Arthur Ashe Stadium’s court under the bright lights. He’ll do that Thursday evening against Djokovic.
“That’s like a bucket list thing, to get to play on Ashe at night,” Sandgren said. “It’s also cooler, which I don’t know what helps me or hurts me. I don’t really know. That would probably be better conditions for him to play well, which probably isn’t good for me, but I don’t know. It would be an awesome experience.”
Since his performance in Australia, Sandgren has lost in the first round 10 times. Part of that can be attributed to a stress reaction in his right humerus (upper arm). But he admits that he’s no stranger to adversity — he underwent hip surgery for a labrum tear in March of 2014, for example, and did not earn his first two tour-level match wins until 2017 Citi Open, aged 26.
“I’m definitely used to more downs than ups, so to have a nice upswing there for a portion of time was pretty cool,” Sandgren said of his Australian Open run.
Watch Sandgren Demonstrate How He Hits His Forehand
Now the 27-year-old has an opportunity to create perhaps the greatest ‘up’ of his career against arguably the hottest player in the sport in Djokovic, who just completed the Career Golden Masters in Cincinnati. To face that challenge at his home country’s major? Even better.
“[I’m] always happy to be here playing. I haven’t ever done particularly well, but I like coming here and trying at least. It’s nice to get out of the first round,” Sandgren said. “I’ve always wanted to do well at this tournament. I haven’t before, but I’ve always wanted to. So I’m excited for the opportunity.”
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2LEAlIU
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