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'Who you follow on Twitter doesn't matter' – Sandgren on far-right links

  • Posted: Jan 22, 2018

American tennis player Tennys Sandgren denied he was a far-right sympathiser as he was questioned about his beliefs after reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals.

The world number 97 was speaking after a dramatic five-set victory over fifth seed Dominic Thiem at Melbourne Park on Monday.

Sandgren, 26, was asked about his social media presence, specifically his activity around the postings of ‘alt-right’ figures in the United States.

Earlier this month, a video posted by Nicholas Fuentes – who says he attended a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville – was retweeted on Sandgren’s Twitter account.

“Who you follow on Twitter, I feel, doesn’t matter even a little bit,” said Sandgren.

“What information you see doesn’t dictate what you think or believe. I think it’s crazy to think that. I think it’s crazy to assume that.

“To say: ‘Well, he’s following X person, so he believes all the things that this person believes’… I think that’s ridiculous.”

Sandgren had never won a match at a Grand Slam before this year’s Australian Open, and is only the second man in the past 20 years to reach a quarter-final on his debut in Melbourne.

He beat Thiem 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 in three hours and 55 minutes, and will face South Korea’s Chung Hyeon for a place in the semi-finals.

Sandgren was coached and home-schooled by his South Africa-born mother until he went to college, and “butted heads” with her for years as a “feisty” and “more negative version” of his current self.

Asked by reporters if he supported some of the alt-right movement, he said: “No, I don’t. I find some of the content interesting.

“But no, I don’t, not at all. As a firm Christian, I don’t support things like that. I support Christ and following Him. That’s what I support.”

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Australian Open: Simona Halep beats Naomi Osaka to reach quarter-finals

  • Posted: Jan 22, 2018
2018 Australian Open
Dates: 15-28 January Venue: Melbourne Park
Coverage: Watch highlights on BBC Two, the BBC Sport website and app. Live commentary on the best matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.

Top seed Simona Halep recovered from a third-round win that lasted nearly four hours to beat Naomi Osaka and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals.

The Romanian, 26, came through a tight first set before racing away to a 6-3 6-2 victory in Melbourne.

She will face sixth seed Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-final.

Pliskova, 25, beat fellow Czech and 20th seed Barbora Strycova 6-7 6-3 6-2 in a night session match lasting two hours, 41 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.

Earlier, Halep had showed no sign of the ankle injury she suffered in the first round.

“It was a great match,” said Halep.

“I am really happy to be back in the quarter-finals. I didn’t expect this at the start of the tournament because of the injury.

“The tournament has been a marathon for me. I am just trying to enjoy it and give everything.”

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It is the third time Halep has made the last eight at Melbourne Park but the first time since 2015.

The two-time French Open runner-up is chasing a maiden Grand Slam title after securing the number one ranking last October.

Dispatching the impressive Osaka – the 20-year-old who beat Australian hope Ash Barty in the previous round – in just one hour and 19 minutes was exactly what the world number one required.

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Including the three hours and 44 minutes spent defeating Lauren Davis on Saturday, Halep has spent just short of eight hours reaching the quarter-finals.

She can now enjoy the advantage of having finished her fourth-round match several hours before Strycova and Pliskova began theirs in the night session.

Osaka, ranked 72nd, had her chances in the opening set but failed to convert any of five break points.

Halep made the key breakthrough when the Japanese player leaked a forehand wide at 3-3, and an early move from Osaka in the second set was snuffed out when Halep broke back for 1-1.

The defensive skills of Halep blunted Osaka’s power and the Romanian locked down the contest with just five errors in the second set, converting all three break points that came her way.

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Djokovic: "Chung Has Game To Be Top 10"

  • Posted: Jan 22, 2018

Djokovic: “Chung Has Game To Be Top 10”

Jan222018

In his first tournament back for six months, Serbian star praises Chung

Six-time former champion Novak Djokovic believes that Hyeon Chung has the potential to break into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings following the South Korean’s 7-6(4), 7-5, 7-6(3) victory in the Australian Open fourth round.

“He definitely has the game to be a Top 10 player, without a doubt,” said Djokovic. “How far he can go, that depends on him. Obviously, I respect him a lot because he’s a hard worker, he’s disciplined, he’s a nice guy, he’s quiet. You can see that he cares about his career and his performances. So I’m sure that he’s going to get some really good results in the future.”

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Djokovic always felt he was fighting to get back into the match against No. 58-ranked Chung, who captured the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals title last year.

“Congratulations to Chung and his team – amazing,” said Djokovic. “[An] amazing performance. He was a better player on the court tonight. He deserved to win, no question about it. Whenever he was in trouble, he came up with some unbelievable shots, passing shots. Just from the back of the court, he was like a wall. It was impressive.

“I had a terrible start – [a] double break down, [but] managed to come back. Probably, in the first set tie-break, he just was mentally tough and patient. The second set also he was up. I think the entire match I was trying to come back and chase him. He was always ahead.”

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Djokovic, who was contesting his first tour-level event since July 2017 at Wimbledon due to a right elbow injury, admitted that his elbow was soon bothering him in the clash on Rod Laver Arena. The injury required on-court treatment.

“Unfortunately, it’s not great. Kind of [at the] end of the first set it started hurting more. So I had to deal with it until the end of the match… I have to say I’m very grateful I had the chance to play. I didn’t know if I was going to play or not. I played four matches here. It was a good tournament, of course. I mean, it’s disappointing to go out in the fourth round. The circumstances are such [and] I have to accept it. That’s the reality.”

“It’s frustrating, of course, when you have that much time and you don’t heal properly… I’m just trying my best, obviously, because I love this sport. I enjoy training. I enjoy getting myself better, hoping that I can get better, perform and compete. Today was one of those days where, unfortunately, it was too much to deal with.

“But I don’t want to talk about my injury tonight, because then I’m taking away from Chung’s victory, the credit that he deserves.”

When asked to compare Chung now, to their last meeting at the 2016 Australian Open, the former World No. 1 said, “Oh, there’s a big difference. Obviously, he’s physically stronger. I think he got some big matches in the past 15 months on the big stage.

“I think that helps to build a confidence and experience, to know what to do in deciding moments. Today, he was great in those moments. He showed no weaknesses, not many. I mean, he was really consistent [and] played a great match.”

Twelve months ago, Djokovic fell to World No. 117 Denis Istomin in the second round. The 12-time Grand Slam championship winner, who has returned to the Tour in 2018 with a new service motion, last captured a major title in June 2016 at Roland Garros (d. Murray).

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Australian Open: Jamie Murray out but Dominic Inglot reaches quarter-final

  • Posted: Jan 22, 2018
2018 Australian Open
Dates: 15-28 January Venue: Melbourne Park
Coverage: Watch highlights on BBC Two, the BBC Sport website and app. Live commentary on the best matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.

Top seeds Jamie Murray and Latisha Chan were knocked out of the Australian Open mixed doubles competition by home pair Marc Polmans and Storm Sanders.

Murray and Chan fell to defeat in straight sets 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.

Murray was also eliminated from the men’s doubles on Saturday, leaving Dominic Inglot as Britain’s sole doubles representative.

Inglot and partner Marcus Daniell of New Zealand won 6-4 6-3 against Andrei Vasilevski and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo.

Inglot’s best Slam result is a semi-final at the 2015 US Open and he has twice made the last eight in Melbourne.

“I’ve had a few quarter-finals here so hopefully we can make this third time lucky,” he said. “I’m very happy.”

Unseeded Inglot and Daniell will play seventh seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic next.

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