Mom of Tennys Sandgren happy with how he's handling Australian Open media scrutiny

Lia Sandgren can't say whether she is more grateful for how well her son Tennys is playing in the Australian Open, or proud of the way he has handled a barrage of questions from the media scrutinizing his political views.

Sandgren, 26, a Gallatin resident, advanced to the quarterfinals where he lost to South Korea's Hyeon Chung 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3 on Tuesday.

► More: Gallatin native Tennys Sandgren makes Aussie Open quarterfinals

► More: Novak Djokovic is upset by Hyeon Chung; Tennys Sandgren is on a roll

'Injuries, setbacks and bankruptcies'

The former Tennessee Vol, who is named after his Swedish great grandfather, entered the tournament unseeded and ranked No. 97 in the world. He is only the second man in 20 years to make it this far in his Australian Open debut.

Sandgren had won just two ATP matches prior to the Australian Open and had never won a main draw match in a grand slam event.

“As far as the playing is concerned, I’m not as proud about what he’s doing on the actual court as I am more grateful because it’s been such a difficult road wrought with injuries, setbacks and bankruptcies, that when a measure of success happens like this, I don’t think proud is the right word — it’s grateful,” she said. “I am so grateful that he is able to have some success and actually finally get to where he’s been working so hard to go.”

Why Sandgren's social media has been scrutinized

But not all the media focus has been on the way Sandgren dispatched fifth-seed Dominic Thiem in a thrilling five-set round of 16 match 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-3. Or the way he defeated ninth-seeded Stan Wawrinka in the second round.

The feel-good story of the 2018 Australian Open took an interesting turn earlier in the week when reporters from ESPN, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times and others quizzed Sandgren about his activities on social media, suggesting he supports alt-right views.

Sandgren, who professed he is a devout Christian and a conservative, was questioned about the type of people he followed on Twitter, including several political pundits. He has since deleted several years of tweets to “move forward” and create a “version of a cleaner start,” according to The Associated Press.

Instead of avoiding the reporters' questions, Sandgren took them head-on like a backhand smash.

► More: Tennys Sandgren faces questions about social media links to alt-right movement

His mom said: “When they asked Tennys a question about Twitter his coach Jim (Madrigal) tried to interrupt and Tennys said, “No, no, no — I want to answer this question.’ I texted Jim and said, ‘Please don’t ever do that again. Don’t try to deflect. Let him handle it. He can. Believe me, he can handle it.’”

Sandgren defended some of the Twitter accounts he follows and the other scrutiny by saying: “What information you see doesn’t dictate what you think or believe and 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 his person believes.’ I think that’s ridiculous.”

What Sandgren's mom said about his political views

That response put a big smile on his mom's face.

“I have tremendous pride in how he’s handling himself with the media,” she said. “How he’s being winsome and eloquent and speaking with a fabulous humility. You can see his humility and that comes from suffering. The young guns have no humility about them because they haven’t suffered yet. So there is a lovely humility about Tennys that is completely genuine because he knows where he’s been and he knows where he comes from.”

When asked about her son's political views, Lia said: "He's not necessarily anything, but he is extremely patriotic. He loves his country with a passion. That, to him is more important than tennis. He's distraught over the state of our country. He's distraught over the division and he wants to do whatever he can in his little world to help heal things. And he says, 'How can I help people if I don't have information; if I'm not up on both sides of the coin and know what the issues are for each side?' "

How Sandgren's mom has become part of the story

Some of the media focus also has been on Lia. She fell on a pool table and cracked a rib while celebrating Sandgren's victory Monday over Thiem at her home in Gallatin.

"Now I can't laugh as hard as I want to or jump around as much as I want to, but I'm all right," Lia said. "I am milking this for all it's worth. All these neighbors that were there when it happened are now bringing me food and cleaning my house and driving me around."

The injury is preventing Lia from making the trip to Australia. She did not go initially because she wasn't sure how far her son would advance. And now, any thought of going is not possible because of the injury.

"With this broken rib I am not able," she said. "It's a brutal journey. I'd have to get to L.A. and then sit there for six hours and then get on a plane for Melbourne, which is 16 hours. I could not do it, even if I wanted to."

That's not all bad. Lia believes her son actually plays better when she's not in the stands.

"I always think he doesn't play as well when I'm there because I coached him all through juniors," Lia said. "There is still that little bitty thing deep inside of him saying, 'My mom is sitting up there and she just saw me hit that backhand,' or whatever. So I'm happy not to be there. I feel like I free him up when I'm not there."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.