Tennis: USA/TN's Tennys Sandgren's incredible run in Australian Open

Tennys Sandgren, 26 yo, from Gallatin, TN - ITP Rank #97
Proud owner of the best name in tennis.

I admit, that except for Aggie tennis, I do not keep up with anything tennis. However, that changed last Thursday evening when a local (Nashville) TV Sports program mentioned that the only American left in the Australian Open (AO) was a player born and raised in Gallatin, Tennessee.

There were 13 American who entered the Australian Open. All but Tennys were gone by the Round of 16.

He had made the round of 16 in the tournament and was referred to as the surprise of the tournament
How can you not root for a guy name Tennys?

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Although his first name is pronounced "TENN-iss", it actually has nothing to do with game of tennis. He is actually named for a Swedish great-grandfather.
Due to his name, he usually does not use his name in public to avoid the typical question "Do you play tennis?". When he is in a place like a coffee shop (etc.), "I say 'David' or something like that".

He played tennis at Tennessee his freshman and sophomore years where they were SEC champions. He turned pro in 2011 after his sophomore year. He has been ranked as high as #85. After hip surgery in 2015, he dropped into the 700's. But following surgery, he improved rapidly, and his current ITP rank is #97.

His interesting history information on Wikipedia:
Wikipedia

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Website article on surprise success in the Open thru the Round of 32.
Giant Killer Tennys Sandgren's fairy tale run thru Round of 32

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On Monday evening in Melbourne, Tennys shocked #5 Dominic Thiem (along with many others in the world of international tennis) with a five-set victory in the Round of 16. He is the first American to reach the quarter-finals since 2010 [Andy Roddick]. The match was on ESPN2 and ran from about midnight to 3 am. His next match should also be live on ESPN2 probably on Wednesday there (maybe Tuesday here). Match time is currently not scheduled.

His next match is against 21-year old Korea's Hyeon Chung who has also had an incredible run thru the Australian Open beating the #4, #14, and #32 ranked players in the world. Chung is ranked #58 but will certainly be ranked higher after this tournament. He will definitely be favored over Tennys.

Tennys is 6-2 and weighs about 200 pounds. His is much quicker and faster than you would think he would be, but definitely not as quick and fast as Chung. It will be an uphill struggle for Tennys but so have been the rest of his matches.

Tennys' results so far:
#84. Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 --- Round of 132
#8. Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 --- Round of 64 --- easily made him the surprise player of the tournament at that point. Stan is a three-time Grand Slam winner.
#94. Maximillan Marterer 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 --- Round of 32
#5. Dominic Thiem 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 --- Round of 16

ESPN2 is televising the games. The time there (Melbourne) is apparently 17 hours ahead of our (CST) time.

So far in the Austrian Open, Tennys has made more money (about $350K) than he has in the rest of his entire pro career. He does well in his interviews. Seems like a very pleasant and humble person. He has had no manager or trainer until the last two years.

An interesting side note after his victory over #8 Wawrinka, his mother and other family members in Gallatin were celebrating his victory so vigorously by jumping up and down which resulted is his mom falling against a pool table so hard that she fractured a rib and had to be taken to a hospital for treatment. She is sore, but ok. It made the local news here in Nashville and was picked up by several outlets at the tournament.

Cool story. Thanks !!

Tennys Sandgren (#97) vs Korea's Hyeon Chung (#58) is apparently scheduled tonight at 8 pm (CST).

The Australian Open (AO) is carried live on ESPN2. Not certain if Tennys' match will be on TV or not but if it starts around 8 pm, it should be. This is a quarterfinal match and there is no other AO match of any type at that time.

Chung is younger (21 vs 26), faster, and quicker than Tennys. Even though he is much younger and been a pro for a much shorter period of time, Chung has about 5 times the earning of Tennys.

Tennys lost in straight sets 6-4, 7-6, 6-3.

I don't usually watch tennis or golf. However, I did tonight after the Aggie ballgame (in which we played so poorly).

I am perplexed how mentally unstable golfers and tennis players are when it comes to crowd noise. Their lack of the ability to concentrate is so severe that they cannot even tolerate someone whispering. Can you imagine someone at a basketball game requesting the crown to be quite (not even to whisper) when a basketball player is about to take a free throw?

I have read that at some college tennis matches, crowds make noise during matches just as they do at other sporting events.

Why are tennis and golf players so mentally fragile?

I never played either of those sports competitively but my guess is they just aren't used to it. If they regularly played with loud and hostile crowds, I would bet those same players would quickly adapt and it wouldn't be an issue. If it is always quiet when you are severing, a small noise can be distracting. If there was frequently noise, then it wouldn't be distracting as they would be used to it.

From my perspective, I guess I don't see them as being mentally fragile, but to be fair, that is at a whole. In any sport, you will have players who are better at tuning out distractions, including the distractions that derive from their own thoughts!

As far as tennis or golf, the tradition of silence may derive from the proximity of the playing surface to the fans. Tennis venues are quite large now, but imagine playing long ago. It simply wasn't sporting to hiss, "Miss it," right as someone was serving or putting, especially towards someone holding a club and standing about twenty feet away from you. Anyone who has played with siblings can attest to the development of focus during times such as those, but these are supposed to be professionals.

One of the Williams sisters was interviewed about the trend toward noisier matches, and while she seemed resigned to it, she made a rather thoughtful comment: "There's something very special about tennis in the quiet. There's that tension that everybody feels, the sound of the ball, the sound of the footwork is very special in sports. I do enjoy the quiet. Especially the more important the moments, silence says it all. Personally, I don't think it should go away."

That statement resonated with me because it is rapidly disappearing from a lot of sport.
The anticipation before the starter's pistol in a race, the hush as the vaulter goes up in the air, the lull preceding the crack (or ping!) of the bat after the pitch is delivered. And she is right, those moments are special.

Understandably, in the crazy big stadiums and arenas, you really cannot hear much of anything from way up in the cheap seats, and the sound systems that blare music seem to reinforce the notion that we must need that noise in order to have a good time (or maybe it is to drown out boos, I don't know), but in certain sports, I really appreciate it when it is not loud and there are these moments of silence, even if the officials have to enforce it. I appreciate it because it reinforces that we are spectators at the event, not competitors. When push comes to shove, we are there to watch the event unfold because we enjoy the game itself, otherwise it becomes more about us than them. Sure, some sports like football, basketball, and boxing do have fans that cheer and shout and so on, but they also have, save for the above mentioned free throws, far more periods of uninterrupted play. I am glad that there are opportunities to watch both types. Sometimes I want to go and yell and jump up and down and sometimes I want to wait and watch and then cheer with appreciation for the skill and effort when a player has achieved success or groan with disappointment when he or she missed the mark. To each his own I guess.