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.
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