Sandgren: "Roger Federer is more beautiful to look at, but Djokovic is the best ever"

Tennys Sandgren started 2020 in Doha, being eliminated in the first round by the French Corentin Moutet, then finalist of the tournament. In Auckland, where he was defending champion, he passed the round of 32 defeating Australian Michael Venus but was defeated in the following round by compatriot John Isner, number 4 of the seeding. He reached the Australian Open quarter-finals for the second time in his career where he was beaten in the fifth set by Roger Federer after missing seven match points.

Sandgren broke into the Top 100 of the ATP rankings toward the end of 2017 after competing mainly on the ATP Challenger Tour for many years. Born and raised in Gallatin, Tennessee, he played two years of college tennis at the University of Tennessee before launching his professional career.

During an interview at the New York Open, Tennys revealed the best player ever in tennis between Federer and Djokovic: “There is no doubt that Federer is more beautiful to look at, but Novak is the best ever. We do one thing and he does another. We try to hit a winner, while he places the ball in difficult and irritating areas, where it is impossible to surprise him. He suffocates you slowly. What he does is just incredible.

I feel like that’s within reach if I keep getting better, keep striving in the right direction. Tennis is a tough sport; you try to peak at the right times, try to do your best in these weeks and grind, put your best foot forward. I feel like I’m playing well, doing some good things on the court and getting better as a player. When I’m playing my best tennis, I feel like I’m competing with the best players. However, there are some things I still need to work on – probably to improve the mental aspect and not get so frustrated; I have to play focused and be positive, things like that.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2P1fvYY