To Roger Federers 101st victory at the Australian Open, a 4: 6, 6: 1, 6: 2, 6: 2 against Marton Fucsovics (ATP 67), quickly focused on his 57th quarter-final at a Grand Slam tournament, his 15th in Melbourne (all records). Because in this the 20-time major winner meets on Tuesday a new and surprising opponent, the American Tennys Sandgren, who appears for the second time in this tournament from nowhere in the quarter-finals.
“I wonder why it is not classified much better,” said Federer about number 100, listing a number of Sandgren’s qualities, such as the good serve, the good interplay between defensive and offensive and the fighting qualities. “He’s playing like one of the top 20,” summed up Federer, who had closely followed Sandgren’s four-set victory over Fabio Fognini before his evening game.
On Twitter he had supported statements such as that multiculturalism like Cancer or Serena Williams was obnoxious.
Sandgren beat Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka in 2018 when he made his first quarter-finals in Melbourne, but also generated negative headlines. Because it also came into focus that he sympathized with right-wing extremists. On Twitter he had supported statements such as that multiculturalism like Cancer or Serena Williams was obnoxious. Then he immediately deleted about 2000 entries, which only brought the story even more attention.
Since then, the 28-year-old man from Gallatin, Tennessee, has rarely appeared on the big tennis stage. For example in Wimbledon, where he was in the round of 16 in 2019, or in Auckland, where he celebrated his only ATP tournament victory so far. He was ranked 41st, his best. Because he could not defend the title, he fell far behind.
“My strengths come into play better in large games and in front of many spectators.”Tennys Sandgren
After winning against Fognini, Sandgren was modest. When asked about his strong record at the Grand Slam tournaments against top 20 players, he put it into perspective: “It is probably only so good because I always lose earlier”. If he gets far, he is extremely pumped up because he does not want to screw up these opportunities. His Grand Slam record was 14:10, five of which were wins, but only two losses against top 20 players.
“I shouldn’t be here at all,” Sandgren even said of his upcoming Grand Slam quarter-final. However, he admits: “In large games and in front of many spectators, my strengths come into play better.” When he spoke, it was not yet clear that he would really meet Federer. “It would be incredibly special and a lot of fun to play against him at least once in his career,” he said. A little later his wish was a reality.
Tennys Sandberg: A figure full of light and shadow. (Image: Getty Images)
The late effects of Federer’s act of strength
The round of 16 had started with a shock for Federer, the first loss of set against Fucsovics in the third game. «I didn’t have a rhythm, he did. It could have been very complicated, but then it suddenly went quickly, »said the 38-year-old. “It is good to know that I can put such series down.” It only took him 95 minutes to complete sets 2, 3 and 4. A monologue.
The weak start is probably due to the four-hour five-set fight at night against Saturday, he said. He had won the tiebreak of a fifth set against John Millman for the first time, only compelling this 10: 8 with a final sprint and six points in a row.
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The last points and Federer’s victory over Millman. (Video: SRF)
«Such a game leaves all traces. I felt it on Saturday and Sunday, I hardly got out of bed in the morning, »he admitted. «My energy didn’t come back on its own. I had to keep cranking the engine again and again, even during the game. ”It was against him that Fucsovics had never played in the evening before and was surprised by the slow conditions on this cool evening of the Australian national holiday. “Federer played much better from the second set, varied his punches very well, and I couldn’t cope with that,” he said.
Federer wouldn’t mind if he had to face Sandgren for the first time in the day. “That would give me more options because the conditions would be much faster,” he said with foresight. He knew that he could play even better, especially offensively. But he also assumes that he will be much fresher on Tuesday. Sandgren, who also beat the Italian top 10 player Berrettini, has already given three sets in Melbourne and also had to be treated against Fognini at the hip. He spent a total of almost two hours longer than Federer. He made the saying of the day when he said to John McEnroe: «I already have a lot tennis played, but never against Tennys ».
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Created: 1/27/2020, 9:30 PM
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