‘David’ makes Tennys headlines after slaying Goliath

'David' makes Tennys headlines after slaying Goliath
AFP

Melbourne (AFP) – Unheralded American Tennys Sandgren managed to get through most of his press conference after the biggest win of his career when the inevitable happened.

“What is the best story you have about your first name?” he was asked after conquering 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka in straight sets at Melbourne Park late Thursday.

“It’s all pretty similar. It’s kind of, what is your name? Tennys. Well, you play tennis. Tennis ball. Things like that,” he said about his name, which is really pronounced “tennis”.

“Well, it’s also cool,” he said. “But do you want to talk about something else at this point?”

With a middle name of Loren, he said using that to stave off awkward questions wasn’t even an option.

“I don’t give my name when I order a sandwich or a coffee. I say ‘David’ or something like that,” he confessed after beating the three-time Grand Slam champion. 

“I don’t want to deal with the whole name thing when I get a coffee, especially first thing in the morning. I would prefer to get the caffeine,” he said after his 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win in the second round.

It is not his only tennis pun — he hails from Tennessee

“I was definitely aptly named,” he said. “It was my great grandfather’s name

“You know, I think I had to be at least decent at the sport. I couldn’t be terrible. So I think I’ve done that.”

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