Tennys Sandgren of the United States plays a backhand in his second round match against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland on day four of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Mark Kolbe/ Getty Images.

A tennis player from Tennessee has a name made for the sport – he is called Tennys.

Tennys Sandgren is advancing through the Australian Open and has just scalped Stan Wawrinka.

Sandgren is now just one game away from a major quarter-final place and a guaranteed $US600,000 payday.

There’s a tennis player named Tennys currently competing at the Australian Open – and he also happens to be from Tennessee.

Tennys Sandgren had a world ATP rank of 97 before his first match in the first tennis major of 2018. However, he is set to leap up that leaderboard as he is steadily advancing through the competition.

On Tuesday, he beat Jérémy Chardy in three straight sets in his first match.

In a Round of 64 match on Thursday he was expected to lose against world number nine Stan Wawrinka. However, Sandgren slayed Wawrinka in straight sets.

Only low-ranked Maximilian Marterer stands in Sandgren’s way from a quarter-final place and a guaranteed $US600,000 (£432,000) pay day.

Still, the tennis world is picking up on more than just his strong performance – even the official Twitter account of the Australian Open managed to comment on his rather convenient name and background:

You can watch Tennys play tennis next when he takes on Marterer on Saturday.

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