Win or lose his Australian Open quarter-final clash with Roger Federer, it’s a moment that star-struck American Tennys Sandgren is going to treasure.
The world No.100 has never faced the 20-time major champion and says taking to the court against Federer is an opportunity he won’t take for granted.
A fourth-round loss at Wimbledon last year meant he missed meeting world No.1 Rafael Nadal, who he’s also never played.
“It’s very special, very special,” the 28-year-old said of playing Federer.
“I was kicking myself that I lost to a too-good Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in the round of 16 because I would have played Rafa (Nadal) in the quarters.
“That would have been very special so I was a little upset I wasn’t able to get to that match.
“It will be incredibly special to be able to play him at least once in my career and on a big stage like quarters of a slam would be a ton of fun.”
The tennis journeyman, whose highest ranking is 41, also reached the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park in 2018 – his best ever grand slam result.
After years of battling to make the main draw of a major, he said he finally felt like he belonged.
“Getting to play in a big stadium in front of a lot of people – because I’ve played a lot of tennis in front of very few people – that seems to bring out the best tennis in me,” he said.
“Getting the confidence to believe in myself, that I do actually belong on this stage, is crucial for competing because if you don’t feel like you should be there, you’re probably not going to play very well.”
Sandgren’s 2018 campaign was marred by revelations he had supported extreme right-wing social media posts and his path into the final eight this year was not without controversy either – although not his own doing.
His fourth-round opponent, 12th seed Fabio Fognini, was hit with a time-wasting code violation, a foot fault, and a point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct all within 10 minutes of their four-set match.
He also took a seven-minute bathroom break after arguing with officials during the changeover.
During the match Sandgren questioned the umpire saying: “He doesn’t just get no rules because he’s Fabio. Or does he? He gets his own rule because you’re afraid to step on his toes”.
Sandgren later said he didn’t think the volatile Italian was a bad sport but he wanted more consistency from umpires.
“It just seemed like we were dragging on for no real reason,” Sandgren said.
“I would have liked to have seen the ref be a little more forceful for what the times actually were as we have a set amount of time, breaks, things like that.”
Federer or Sandgren will play either defending champion Novak Djokovic of the power-serving Milos Raonic in the semi-finals.