Sandgren knocks out Thiem, reaches Australian Open quarters

Melbourne, Jan 22: Tennys Sandgren of the United States on Monday battled his way to the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time in his career, at the expense of world No. 5 Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (7-9), 6-3.

The odds were in world No. 97 Sandgren's favour going into the match, as he had already stunned world No. 8 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland in Melbourne's second round, reports Efe.

"I'm starting to disbelieve what is happening now," Sandgren said.

"But maybe it's not a dream? He played some really, really great tennis, especially in the fourth set tie-break. Goodness gracious! I knew I had to take my chances and he, from behind the court, would outlast me. I had to stay aggressive and serve well," the 26-year-old said after the match.

Sandgren needed almost four hours to end Thiem's best run in Melbourne, earning 179 total points during the match compared to the Austrian's 168.

This was the second time Thiem fell short of reaching the quarter-finals; in 2017 he was defeated in the round of 16 by David Goffin of Belgium.

Sandgren's next opponent is to be world No. 58 Hyeon Chung of South Korea, who defeated Serbian star Novak Djokovic in straight sets.