Tennis Acumen

Tennys Sandgren Interview from Savannah Challenger - Part II

KARL CORBETT in SAVANNAH

Former Tennessee Volunteer Tennys Sandgren   Photo: Karl Corbett

Karl Corbett covered the Savannah Challenger and prior to the second round, had the opportunity to speak with 2017 Savannah Champion Tennys Sandgren.  The following is the second part and conclusion of the interview.

TA: I would love to hear about your favorite spots on the tour, your favorite tournaments, your favorite cities

TS: I remember playing Stockholm last year, which really struck me as beautiful. Coming straight from China, the contrast was amazing. Not that there’s anything wrong with China, but it's a very different place. It's a different culture, a different reality. And, to go to Stockholm from China was quite a change. In the fall, it is beautiful there. I went for a really long run the day I got there, and I felt at ease. It’s nice. I played some good tennis there, actually. (Sandgren reached the quarterfinals in Stockholm).

The Asian swing is hard. One of the places on that leg of the tour, you have to drive to the airport to get back to the hotel. It takes fifteen minutes to get from the hotel to the courts, but on the way back, you have to go to the airport. That's the most efficient route. Drive to the airport and then walk through the terminals.

I did love riding the train from Beijing to Shanghai, though. The bullet train. You pass by some of these cities that aren't occupied yet, entire cities being built all at once waiting for people to move in. It’s their system of central planning.

They have opened themselves up economically, but they still have their system of central planning. It’s not because people decided on their own to build, saying: We know we have the market for it. It’s not just individual groups or companies building these new cities. It is the government saying: This city is going to be populated. We will put up the buildings and people are going to come. So, there are empty cities, row upon row of apartment buildings that are basically empty. It is pretty fascinating.

TA: Where else I do you have a soft spot in your heart for?

TS: I like Australia. The people are nice, and in Australia, they really enjoy their tennis. They support it. Melbourne gets behind their Slam, where in New York there is so much else going on, the US Open doesn’t affect the city at all. You stay in Manhattan, and people don’t even know there’s a tournament going on. It’s a whole different world, and New York is a massive city. In Melbourne, everyone in the city knows that the tour has come to town.

It is on televisions everywhere you turn, so you feel the city is a part of the tournament.

TA: You have other favorites, I imagine.

TS: I love Paris. It is so, so beautiful there. I was in tatters when the Notre Dame Cathedral was on fire. I was not in a good frame of mind. I was in Sarasota. The tournament was just getting started, I think. When I got the news, I just went back to my hotel in shock. It was just too much. I have been there, five or six times. I always try to go there when I am in Paris. It was so sad.

TA: It makes a difference if you've been there.

TS: I always make a point to go there. It's one of my favorite spots to go, anywhere. You walk inside and you are immediately hushed. Your spirit immediately feels at ease, and you know you're a part of something that is much, much, much bigger than you are. Very quickly, you are shut off from all the tourism outside of the building. Right then and there, you’re cut off from the outside world a little bit. There aren’t many places like that. Not many places, anywhere. There is a tangible feeling to it.

TA: That’s fascinating. Have you picked up at least conversational French, German, different languages?

TS: Not really. I know a little Spanish, but that’s all. Barely enough to get by. Europeans really know their languages. Most Europeans speak a foreign language, some can speak five different languages. They master it when they are young. They're just better at it. It’s different when languages are a little farther removed from you, but Europe is such a small land mass. In a day, you can drive through four countries, all with different languages.

TA: Great stuff, Tennys. Thanks.

Tennys Sandgren in action in Savannah  Photo: Karl Corbett

TA: A question for you, Tennys: At what point in your career will you know you're done?

TS: I think you just know. I think you just know.

TA: Are there specific goals things you want to reach before you quit?

TS: If I win a Grand Slam, then I am retiring on the spot. That’s good. That’s plenty. Otherwise, where do you draw the line? I don’t know. I am either playing the long game, where its: Let's see how healthy I can stay and see how many Grand Slams I can play and see if I can accumulate some wealth with the talents I have, doing the thing I'm going to be the best for the longest period of time. Or, if I can somehow squirrel my way into winning a Grand Slam then I'll just call it a career. That was plenty. So I want to work hard, but I don’t want to work hard at this forever. This hurts. My body isn’t what it used to be, and that will continuously get worse. I still feel good. I still move well, but I feel little things starting to creep up. So, it takes longer to warm up

It takes more work to keep my body feeling good. But, at the same time, when I feel good, I probably feel better than I ever have, so that’s good.

TA: Brilliant. That’s nice to hear.

TS: I still like to play and I still enjoy playing, but it takes a little more work. We’ll see. I don't know if I’ve got 10 years of me, but I probably have a good five or six.

Tennys Sandgren unleashes a backhand  Photo : Karl Corbett

TA: When Tennis Acumen asked John Millman the same question, he said: When I stop getting better, I'm done. That is sort of his benchmark.

TS: I don’t know. If I am still getting into Grand Slams, and making money, I am in. It’s not about the money.  I am  not doing it for the money.

TA: It has to be a passion.

TS: Right, and this is my best chance, more than likely to walk away with something. If I am still competing in Slams and my body is feeling good, I can keep going. If my body feels like trash, and I am not competing well, If I am not winning matches and I fall outside of a hundred fifty or whatever, then maybe not.

TA: How much do you think about life after tennis?

TS: A good amount, really. What I am going to do is somewhat predicated on how my career ends up. My potential avenues for activity increase the better I do.

TA: Have you thought about broadcasting? Have you done any guests slots, then?

TS: Nothing like that. I'd love to do my own broadcast where I can say what I really want to say. Broadcasting matches and saying: Wow, that was really a horrible shot. He really didn’t know what he was thinking on that one. You know, just being honest. But there is only so much you can do on a network broadcast, but there are plenty of options to do it outside of a network. On a network, I’d really have to bite my tongue, and I don’t like doing that.

TA: With that philosophy, when I'm not getting better, I'm done,  came into play last year here at this tournament. An up and coming American came off the court, he had just lost a match and he was just devastated. . I just looked him and said: If you don't play guys that can beat you, you're not going to get any better. The lights came on, and he said: Thank you. He just visibly relaxed. Young guys can get really crazy about losing. So, in your younger years, how did you deal with losing and struggling?

TS: Not well, then.

TA: Do you deal with it better now?

TS: Slightly better. Early on, every loss was an existential crisis. Yep, and the younger I was the worse it would be. You get more perspective. You get a little more mature as you get older. Some of them still hurt, really hurt. You question yourself, so that the meaning of what you are doing seems to be lost somewhere that point. You have to find your find your way back to some sort of center. Back to where we started, If I win a Grand Slam, then I am retiring on the spot.

TA: Thanks, Tennys. Good luck today.

 

 

Savannah Challenger Final - Coria Defeats Lorenzi

KARL CORBETT in SAVANNAH

Tennis players don’t have it easy. On any given day, they might face an opponent they have never seen before. Week to week, they can work in radically different climates. As the seasons change, they compete on grass, hard court and clay. Injury makes everything uncertain, and there’s no ‘bench’, no one to take their place when they are hurt. There’s pressure, too. Every tournament matters, especially here at the Challenger level. Just one win can boost a player’s ranking, allowing direct entry into tour-level tournaments.

Today, the heat is on. High heat and high humidity rule the day in Savannah, Georgia. Rain may well delay the proceedings, too.

Let’s look at our finalists. They’ve taken different paths to get to this title match. Earlier this week, Federico Coria (ARG) beat the number one seed, American Tennys Sandgren. On his way to the final, Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) knocked out players from India, the United States,  Vietnam and the Dominican Republic.

Coria breezed through his semifinal match yesterday here in Savannah, beating his Australian opponent in just 77 minutes, and giving up just 6 points in the second set. Paolo Lorenzi waged war for 152 minutes plus a weather delay, and barely took more points than his Indian challenger, 94-90 in total points won. In their only other meeting, just six months ago, Lorenzi beat Coria in a 3^rd set tiebreak.

Paolo Lorenzi is 37 years old, and has been ranked as high as #33 in the world. Federico Coria’s highest ranking has been #223. He is 10 years younger than Lorenzi, and 10 years younger than his brother, Guillermo, a former world #3.

2019 Champion Federico Coria  Photo: Karl Corbett

Match report:

First set: Federico Coria got off to a quick lead in Savannah with two holds and a break. In the 4th game, he also converted his third break point with a screaming forehand down the line and went up 4-0.

Lorenzi changed gears and started hitting high, arcing shots to break Coria’s rhythm, and eventually to break Coria. Now it’s 4-1.

Lorenzi adjusts again. He hits short balls and comes up with nifty net play but it is not enough to hold. He has started to mutter to himself and shows definite signs of frustration. More adjustments. At 5-1, Lorenzi's lob takes the score to love-30 and he breaks Coria a second time.

At 5-2, new balls seem to help Lorenzi. At 30-all, closing a 20 shot rally, Coria dumps a backhand into the net, then sends a forehand long, and Lorenzi has a hold. Now, serving for the set, Coria engages in some self-talk, echoing his team's encouragement from the sideline and pushes through to win the set.

Coria walks off the court backwards, eyes locked with this team and points down to the green clay court as if to say: “I own this”. Lorenzi leaves for a break off court and the crew from The Landings comes out, dragging the clay surface and brushing the lines Lorenzi must be hoping that fresh clay brings a fresh start.

2019 Savannah Finalist Paolo Lorenzi  Photo: Karl Corbett

Second set: In the second set, Lorenzi indeed has a fresh start and holds to love. Serving at 0-1, Coria misses an easy put away and his self-talk starts to show more frustration than confidence, yet he manages a hold. At 1-1, the drop shot is once again instrumental in Lorenzi's service hold. In the next game, Coria puts his own drop shot to good use, and holds at love. Thus far in the set, Coria’s first serve has gone in 92% of the time.

As play resumes at 2-2, what appears to be a crosscourt winner by Lorenzi is called out by the chair umpire. Paolo walks around the net, he and the umpire reading the marks in the clay like medieval fortune-tellers. Next ball, Coria clips the line with a  winner and Lorenzi implores the umpire to come and take a look. The umpire doesn't budge. Lorenzi shrugs it off and wins the  game.

At 4 all, Coria is still serving at 91% but things get away from him. Lorenzi gets him to love-40, and the crowd screams “Paolo… Paolo.” When Coria saves the first of three break points, his team exhorts him: “punto por punto”: one point at a time. The crowd’s adulation seems to buoy Lorenzi and he breaks Coria takes the second set 6-4.

Third set:  As the final set begins, the Italian comes out swinging, the crowd urging him on. Lorenzi holds twice.  Coria’s team is calling  out: “’Segura… Segura…”. Confidence. It works, and he breaks Lorenzi for a 3-2 lead.

Somehow, down a break, Lorenzi still has a determined look on his face.  Coria double-faults at game point, sends an ill-advised drop shot out-of-bounds, saves a break point, but still holds. There is determination on both sides of the net.

Serving, down 4-2, 15-40 someone in the crowd calls out: “You’ve got him on the ropes, Paolo.” This brings laughter from the crowd, and from Coria’s team.

Lorenzo hits an ace, his second of the match, and wins another point with clean crisp net play, but can't save a third break point. Coria is up two breaks, and the Argentine serves the match out for a 6-2 win, and the Savannah title.

Within seconds, Coria is surrounded by ball kids, and autographs every shirt and cap in sight. He hugs his team, and with a huge smile on his face, walks to the net, hugs  Lorenzi and sits down to await the trophy presentation.

We certainly hope that you have enjoyed the Tennis Acumen coverage of the Savannah Challenger by Karl Corbett.

Savannah Challenger Semifinals

KARL CORBETT in SAVANNAH

Photo: Karl Corbett

Every tennis tournament is a war of attrition. Only one player emerges unscathed. There are always surprises and setbacks, upsets and injuries. Everything is running true to form here at the 2019 Savannah Challenger event.

Of the 16 seeded players, only #2 and #15 remain, one on each side of the draw. Two of our seeds fell to injuries, and twelve were imply beaten.

Diversity, again, is the order of the day. Our semifinalists include an Argentine, an Australian, and Indian and an Italian. 17 Americans have been sent home.

Our first semifinal:

#15 seed Federico Coria (ARG) has played tough tennis, taking out two French adversaries and beating the #1 seed, American Tennys Sandgren, in straight sets. He’ll face Aleksandar Vukic (AUS), who had to fight his way through the first two rounds, playing three tiebreak sets overall. He’s played just one set since then, given an opponent’s injury in round 3 and a walkover in round 4.

The two have never met.

Our second semifinal:

#2 seed Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) has only dropped one set so far, taking out the #6 and #16 seeds along the way. Ranked #108, this clay court veteran could move up to #102, should he take the title here. His opponent, Sumit Nagal (IND), entered this event ranked #332 in the world, and has improved his ranking 29 places just by getting this far. His play keeps getting stronger as the week rolls on. Like our first semifinal, it’s the first time Nagal and Lorenzi have played

Semi-final #1: Match report.

Federico Coria advances to the Savannah Final  Photo: Karl Corbett

It is hard to describe the intensity of live men’s tennis. Nothing you see on television will give you a clue. However, our first semi-final was about finesse, not power. There was not a single ace served in the match. In his second service game, Aleksandar Vucik sent one down the middle and came to the net. Federico Coria punished him with a screaming winner down the line, setting up a break point. Vucik never tried that tactic again.

Later, receiving at 4-4, Coria parked out wide in the ad court and pummeled forehands again and again to earn a break. At 5-4, Coria took the first set with a stylish drop shot that Vucik never touched.

Until the last few weeks, Vucik had not played clay courts since June of ‘18, and it was starting to show. In the second set, Vucik’s opening service game ended with a lengthy rally, capped off by yet another Coria drop shot. Coria took a love hold and the air went out of the stadium. Vucik was broken again, having won a total of two points thus far in the set  . As Coria is served at 3-0, Vucik missed two easy put aways. You could see it on his face. You could read it in his eyes. It was effectively over. Errors kept coming. Vucik tried a drop shot that landed six feet short of the net,  and  gave up another break to 5-0. Coria held at love,  and the match was over. In the second set, Coria’s first serve  fell in at 88%, and he won 25 of the set’s 31 points, to move in to tomorrow’s final. Well earned.

Semifinal #2: Match report

Rain fell the minute the first match ended, and a passing shower hammered the canvas roof on stadium court, but the second match got underway on schedule.

Sumit Nagal broke Paolo Lorenzi at 2-2 with a thunderous cross-court winner, as rain threatened again. Storms passed to the north and south. Our venue at The Landings slipped through the eye of the needle without a drop of rain. It was such a close call that officials called a lightning delay, even though the horizon was starting to show blue skies.

Play resumed, and Nagal held at 3-2, leaping in the air to take high, bouncing balls and smash them downward into Lorenzi’s side of the court.

Even with his aggressive play, Nagal could not hold. It’s all even at 3. Lorenzi returned the aggression with an ace, the first of the match, to start his service game, and held at love. The war was on. New balls, please. High quality tennis, long rallies, grunts and shouts at every shot. Nagal cracked under the pressure. Serving at 4-5, he double faulted, with the second serve dropping six feet past the service line. Then three errors and Lorenzi had the first set, 6-4.

At age 37, Paolo Lorenzi has seen it all. When he comes to the net and is beaten with a screaming passing shot, he carries on. Broken, down 2-0 in the second set, he painted the lines on second serves, charged the net for ridiculous drop shot winners and held at love. Three games later, Lorenzi broke back. 3 all in the second. New balls, please.

Somewhere along the line, the changeover music played: “Hold On, I’m Coming”, which only worked for the next two games. Then, Nagal broke at 4 all and served out the second set, 6-4

The war rages on. Storms are looming on the court and on the weather radar. Lorenzi breaks for a 2-love lead. Nagal screams with rage. The skies darken.

2019 Savannah Semifinalist Sumit Nagal  Photo: Karl Corbett

Another break for Lorenzi and a medical timeout for Nagal. “Hold On, I’m Coming” two more times and Lorenzi leads, 4-1. Storms pass to the north and south, and the Savannah Challenger once more slips through the eye of the needle. Nagal serves at 2-5. Lorenzi starts throwing up lobs on every ball until Nagal throws a lob back his way. Then Lorenzi hits the hardest, flattest ball in his repertoire and draws an error. Lorenzi is serving at match point. Another lob, another error, and it’s over.                   

Dispirited, Nagal shakes hands at the net. Lorenzi is going to the final. The house music starts up with a snappy little tune: “Happy”. Lorenzi is. Nagal isn’t.

Savannah Challenger Quarterfinals

KARL CORBETT in SAVANNAH

On site at the Savannah Challenger  Photo: Karl Corbett

The game of tennis is all about diversity: differing styles, different surfaces, differing skills and strengths. The world is well represented here in Savannah. Today’s singles matches pit nation against nation: Two French players match up against an Argentine and an Indian, two Americans face an Australian and an Italian in the Challenger’s quarterfinals.

There’s diversity in these athletes, as well. Differences in height: 9 inches (23 cm), in weight, 35 pounds (16 kg) and in age: 17 years. They rank from #108 in the world to # 354.

This diversity creates uncertainty. Who will be ‘on their game’? Whose style will stymie their opponent? The stage is set: four battles on the green clay of Georgia. Four winners will emerge. When the dust clears, we will share what we have seen.

Federico Coria of Argentina  Photo: Karl Corbett

First match results: Coming off a surprise win against #1 seed Tennys Sandgren the previous day, Federico Coria would be favored by most against Frenchman Alexandre Muller, and this match really was not a contest. Coria is quite comfortable on clay. 38 of his last 40 tournaments have been on this surface, while 8 of Muller’s 10 tournaments in 2019 were on hard courts. From the first ball, Coria’s footwork was on display, shuffling with geometric precision to set up each shot.

Muller, ranked #310 in the world, is not afraid to show his emotions, punishing himself with his racket and talking softly to himself after each miss. His most notable moments have been a 2017 wild-card entry into the French Open, where he ran out of gas and lost the 5^th set 6-0. At the time, he described the event “a dream, to be playing against top 100 players.” His biggest win came in 2018, when he returned to the French Open and beat American Donald Young in the qualifiers.

Coria has been recently surrounded by controversy. In June of 2018, Coria was banned from the sport for two months for behavior referred to in press releases as "gambling-related activities”.  By August, he was back on the clay, winning his first tournament, a Futures event in Romania.

Today in Savannah, Coria defeated Muller handily, 6-4, 6-1. In the second set, Muller won just 9 points in total, including a love hold when he served at 0-5.

Frenchman Alexandre Muller  Photo: Karl Corbett

The second scheduled match never happened. Tommy Paul withdrew, citing a turned ankle. His aggressive baseline style has served him well in recent weeks, and earned him a wild card entry into the 2019 French Open. After winning 11 of his last 12 matches, Paul was unable to continue his winning streak. 

As a result, Aleksandar Vukic of Australia advanced to the semifinals without having to hit a ball today.  In fact, Vukic needed just one set to reach the quarters when his opponent in the 3rd round, American Collin Altamirano retired after losing the first set in a tie breaker.

 

American Tommy Paul won the USTA Wild Card into the Main Draw of Roland Garros  Photo: Karl Corbett

Australian Aleksandar Vukic  Photo: Karl Corbett

Third match up: The smallest players left in the draw, Sumit Nagal and Corentin Moutet, are equals in age, height and weight, but they have little else in common. Moutet, from France, ranks # 126. Nagal, from India, stands at # 332. Nagal is a right-hander, Moutet a lefty. Nagal was cool under fire. Moutet gave up break points at critical moments.

Nagal is lightning quick, with a massive forehand, which he played cross-court to the Moutet backhand with great effect. Any weak effort from the Frenchman saw Nagal at the net, putting angled volleys away for winners.  Moutet was steady, with an occasional flare of acrobatic skill as he elevated to put away backhand winners.

Nagal always seemed to be a step ahead, however,  Moutet did save critical points with stunning drop volleys, never afraid to work his way to the net.  In the end, Nagal took it away in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.

Sumit Nagal of India  Photo: Karl Corbett

Corentin Moutet of France  Photo: Karl Corbett

Besides wearing their hats with the bill in back, Chris Eubanks and Paolo Lorenzi have very little in common.

Eubanks was born in Atlanta, Lorenzi in Rome. Eubanks is 22, Lorenzi 37. Since last year’s French Open, Eubanks has played in 2 clay court tournaments, Lorenzi in 20.

The Italian took the first set 6-3 on 2 consecutive unforced errors by the American. Lorenzi consistently out-rallied Eubanks, winning a great majority of Eubanks’ second serve points, and even more of his own. Use of the drop shot showed Lorenzi’s experience, as he kept his 6’ 7” opponent scrambling and guessing.

Eubanks started to show his emotions in the opening game of the second set, giving voice to his frustration and  slamming his racket onto the green clay of Savannah. He held off  5 break points, but could not hold off 6, and Lorenzi was off and running for a 6-3 win, and a slot in Saturday’s semis in Savannah.

Christopher Eubanks of the United States  Photo: Karl Corbett

Paolo Lorenzi of Italy  Photo: Karl Corbett

Saturday's Semifinals feature Federico Coria vs. Alaksandar Vukic  and Sumit Nagal vs. Paolo Lorenzi.  There is up to a 90% chance of rain for the middle of the afternoon on Saturday in Savannah.

 

Revisiting Tommy Paul Saving ALL 15 Break Points vs. Tennys Sandgren in Sarasota

KARL CORBETT in SAVANNAH

In the interview posted yesterday with Tennys Sandgren, a match was discussed in which he was not able to convert any of the 15 Break Point Chances he had against fellow American Tommy Paul last week in Sarasota.

Today, we will hear from Tommy Paul as well as Mike Cation about the match from Sarasota.

Tommy Paul in action today in Savannah.   Photo: Karl Corbett

Tommy Paul struggled in Savannah.  He has seen a lot of that, missing five months due to injury in 2018.  The hard work is staring to pay off.  On the 2019 clay court swing through the Southern US, he has seen triumph, winning 10 of his 11 matches.  In Sarasota, he took the title.  In Tallahassee, he reached the final.

He’s made a good start in Savannah, where Tennis Acumen had an exclusive interview on court after a difficult second-round victory. We asked him about a remarkable match the week before in the Tallahassee semifinals. Facing Tennys Sandgren Paul saved 15 out of 15 break points to notch the victory

TA: You gave us an incredible performance last week, saving all fifteen break points you faced against Tennys Sandgren.

TP: Thanks.  In the match against Sang, I definitely played well on the on the big points. You know, the break points were kind of the key points in the match, and I really stepped up in those points.

TA: How was the level of play in that contest?

TP: I feel like there were definitely some of those break points where he had chances. I know he had a short ball on one of them, but I feel like most of them were high-quality points from both of us. I feel I got most of them working hard, playing good points.

TA: That's what he said. He says that you took most of those points right off his racket.

TP: That’s right. I played so many points really well. I hit some forehand winners, I had good serves. Some of them, were long points, but it went well.

TA: Sandgren described that as playing “lights out”. How does that feel, when you are in zone?

TP: Well, I’d rather be up 40-15, than facing break points, you know? I’d much rather that it not be break point.

TA: Absolutely, but you kept going. How did it feel when you walked in and shook his hand at the net?

TP: It really felt good. It was my second Challenger title. I was pretty pumped, just ‘cause I'm working really, really hard. So, to finally get another win is always, always a good thing. I've been working hard, so I feel like I earned. It was good.

Tommy Paul survives a grueling 3 setter and advances in Savannah.  Photo: Karl Corbett

Mike Cation has likely seen more tennis matches than anyone else you’ll ever meet. He provides commentary for the USTA as they stream every Challenger level match live, atwww.livstream.com/atp.  Cation covers matches, start to finish, day after day, all season long.

Tennis Acumen spoke with Cation in Savannah, Georgia, and ask for his analysis on a remarkable final that had taken place two weeks prior.

TA: We had a remarkable match, the final in the Sarasota Challenger, between Tennys Sandgren  and Tommy Paul, in which Paul saved all 15 break points he faced. I have spoken with both Sandgren and  Paul about the match, but you were there, too, Mike. From the booth, what was the experience?

MC:  You don’t notice that it’s starting to get crazy until about 10 break points in. A lot of it was just kind of back and forth between the two of them. It was pretty normal, but I think it just got more and more frustrating for Sandgren,  knowing exactly what Tommy was going to do with the kick serve out wide to the ad side, combined with Tennys’ inability to solve it early. And Tennys certainly has those moments where he lets things get to him, and they just kind of bubble and percolate and it just got worse and worse and worse for him. Then, it just got to a point where I don't think that anybody courtside even believed that he would be able to find a break.

TA: With the pressure mounting, how did the players handle it, from your point of view, Mike?

MC: Sandgren has mental hurdles that he places in front of himself, at times. So, he was the one who struggled with it, and it just got worse and worse and worse. Sandgren was talking to himself about the fact that he wasn't able to convert.

There was one game, early in the second set (Cation refers to the meticulous handwritten notes he keeps)…   Yes, it was the  second game of the of the second set. He had seven break chances and then he had two the next game…  three the next game… so it just seems like a three-game stretch where he had break chance after break chance and just couldn't get it. So it just got worse and worse. In those three games, when he wasn’t able to convert the last one, the match was done.

TA: Have you seen other matches like that? Is that rare or remarkable?

MC: Yeah, I think I think it's more remarkable just because of the setting. This was a final. Obviously, now it has a lot of implications for the French Open wildcard that Tommy just earned here in Savannah.

MC: I worked a match in Sacramento, it was Taylor Fritz’ first Challenger title. In that final, I think he fought off 15 out of 16 against Jared Donaldson. So I mean, it's not unheard of, by any means. Even Roger Federer has those days where he can't convert a break chance.  That's rather well known in tennis circles. So it's not unheard of. There was just a lot riding on that match.

TA: And did you talk with the players after the match, Mike?

MC:  I talked to Tommy and I mean, he just said that it was very simple. He was just going back to the well, while Sandgren couldn't solve it. Tommy Paul was  able to go back to that serve time after time, and he was just going to do that until Sandgren was able to figure it out. And unfortunately for Tennys, he wasn't able to do that.

TA: Thanks for sharing the story, Mike. We’ll talk soon, I hope.

 

Tennys Sandgren Interview from Savannah Challenger - Part I

KARL CORBETT in SAVANNAH

Tennys Sandgren serving big.    Photo:  Karl Corbett

Here in Savannah, Georgia for the St. Joseph's / Candler Challenger event, Tennis Acumen was granted an exclusive interview with Tennys Sandgren, 2017 champion. We will share that conversation as we follow Sandgren’s quest for his second title in Savannah.

TA: How has your life changed, both personally and professionally, since you made the quarterfinals at the Australian Open?

TS: Good question. Some things have changed, and some things have not changed. I was able to play, for the most part, at the ATP Tour level last year because of that, which was really good. It was challenging, because I was injured for most of the year. That was tough. People don't really understand that most of the guys are injured all the time. You know, playing on chronic injuries, playing through the pain, essentially. I think Rafa said that, actually, a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah, I feel like most guys are playing through some sort of pain, some sort of injury and that's no fun. It was cool to play a bunch of tournaments I have always wanted to play. But then, it's still tennis and it still has all the challenges. Moving up from the Challenger level, the competition’s a little bit stiffer. You are not going to play yourself into the draw as often. It's hard from the get-go. It's a challenge. It’s difficult, but it was good. It was good and right now, my body is feeling better. I had a tough couple of months’ stretch here recently. I am starting to play better again and certainly get some matches under my belt.

I guess, financially, things have changed since the Australian Open, too. I don’t have to worry, paycheck-to-paycheck week-to-week. That’s how the Futures and Challengers work. You are kind of ‘on the bubble’, constantly trying to break through…. Constantly. But, then, to have that portion of my tennis behind me is nice. It’s nice. But then, you have to find other things to motivate you, new things, new challenges to set your sights on, not just surviving. When you actually have resources and actually have opportunities to push forward, then you have to ask: What is my location now to keep moving? I'm just surviving for 3, 4, 5 years and this changes the complexity of what you're doing. It was challenging to reorient my goals in a sustaining way, in a way that that wouldn't just be: Oh, this is a nice week. Instead, it’s: What am I doing? What am I trying to do out here, playing and trying to compete? Where do I find my meaning?

TA: So you have thought about yourself a little differently with the breakthrough.

TS: Well, you are just in a different place. You have to think of yourself differently. Again, some things are still the same. You still have your strengths and weaknesses. You ask yourself: What is going to be my motivation? What sustains me through this journey?

Playing this sport is challenging…. Challenging. There are a lot more downs than ups. So how you going to get through the down portions to make it to the ups?

TA: What you mean is: unless you win the title you lose.

TS: True, and you have to stay motivated. Some losses hurt more than others.

Tennys Sandgren prior to his opening match in Savannah  Photo: Karl Corbett

TA: Last week in Tallahassee, you played a very strong match, but lost to Tommy Paul. It was a remarkable win, in that Paul saved all 15 break points he faced.

TS: I probably had two good looks out of the fifteen break points. Tommy was playing lights out. He played a very good match. He has a great kick serve out wide in the ad court … and he has a great ‘T’ serve with the kick toss. So he’s got a lot of options over there and he's hitting his forehand well, especially in the ad court. Even if I hit a neutralizing return that's floating, even when it was deep, he would hit a winner back at me, even from behind the baseline, inside out or inside in. You know, I had one or two good looks where I pressed maybe a little too much at the end of the point. That was by breakpoint number 13. So it's like he's already saved 13 up to that point.

So it's still a tremendous effort and I'm struggling because I feel like I'm very close to potentially shifting the current of the match but I can't seem to turn it. It just doesn't want to turn. I can't make it go my way. That's the thing with sport, you know, you can do things the right way, but you can't force it to go to the way you want it to. When you're on the cusp that many times of potentially doing so, it either it falls your way or it doesn't. You have to execute the shots, but there is not anything you can do extra mentally, if you're doing all the right things to make it happen your way. So it's hard to let go of that, especially when it’s going on and on and on. Some of the points I just let go played free, not trying to force anything. But some of those points, you're tight, and you’re wondering: What do I have to do to make this happen?

So Tommy would save a break point, and I’d follow up with a good deuce point and there we are again at break point.

Then, he has a game point and I hit a great return for a winner. I had a great backhand return off the kick serve, and I’m asking myself: Where was that return on the break points? You don’t get to pick and choose. You can try hard and do your best, but I walked off the court frustrated, for sure. Very frustrated,

I would love to have taken title. This has been a tough few months at tennis. I didn't win a match for almost three months. I fought really hard and I had some great matches in Tallahassee.

I was down a set and a break in the first round, came back to win sets where I was down a break and saved game points, but the final, after all those times where I was on the edge, things just did not fall for me, at all.

On the bright side, things fell for me more often than not, all the way up to the final.

TA: You can be philosophical, at least.

TS: Well, it’s much easier to be philosophical when things go your way. When you can’t get a break, it’s hard, and you wonder sometimes whether things will fall your way again, ever.

Fifteen break points, and Tommy played them all. It was not as if I was missing returns constantly, or something like that. He took a lot of it off my own racket and he played well.

TA: Have you ever had a match like that?

TS: No, not ever. Not in my entire career. If you get into a match like this, with so many break points, then you are probably holding serve pretty easily and you're probably just waiting for it to fall your way, Maybe there’s been a match where I took one of 13 break points and won the match, but that's when you're doing well. If you're having this many, looks on somebody’s return game. It means you're probably holding serve on your side. He's a good returner, and my return game is pretty good. It was very challenging and I think I made him feel a little bit like Superman, thinking, if I am going to save 15 break points, well… I am going to win. I can do no wrong. I'm going to win, that's cool.

TA: I'm sure you have had days like that.

TS: I have had days like that, when the tide just doesn't want to go against you. I have had days like that, but they are rare.

• Part II of Karl Corbett's interview with Tennys Sandgren will be posted later this week.