MELBOURNE — Controversial American Tennys Sandgren has overcome Australian John-Patrick Smith and his own temper to advance to the second round of the Open warm-up event in Melbourne.
Sandgren berated himself, screaming “I hate this stupid sport”, before going on to secure a 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory over local wildcard Smith.
The ninth seed in the Great Ocean Road Open, Sandgren should have wrapped up the second set after leading 5-4.
But he hit peak frustration in the third set when he blew a 3-1 lead and obliterated a racquet, receiving a points violation.
Smith, ranked 318, went ahead 4-3 but world No. 50 Sandgren regained his composure to wrap up the match.
A two-time quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park, Sandgren had been in hard quarantine until the weekend after a passenger on his charter flight from Los Angeles tested positive for coronavirus.
He was critical of Tennis Australia’s quarantine set-up, and that the top players had been given more freedom in Adelaide hotels.
Sandgren tested positive himself before boarding the flight to Australia, but was allowed to make the journey when it was deemed to be viral shedding from an earlier infection.