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Tennys Sandgren denies support for alt-right as he eyes Australian Open last four

Controversy: American Tennys Sandgren: Getty Images
Controversy: American Tennys Sandgren: Getty Images

Until his exploits here Tennys Sandgren had been best known for his unusual first name, but it has been the 26-year-old American’s political views that have been under scrutiny during his run to the quarter-finals.

Sandgren, named after his Swedish great-grandfather rather than after his sport of choice, is openly supportive of Donald Trump and has been questioned about his interest in the alt-right movement in the United States.

On Twitter, the world No97 has retweeted messages from a number of important members of the alt-right, including the controversial Nicholas Fuentes, who attended the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last year in which a protester was killed.

However, after all the attention on his political views following his success here Sandgren appeared to have deleted all his tweets.

A tweet from Fuentes calling Sandgren a supporter and friend also appeared to have been deleted.

Sandgren, who faces Hyeon Chung in the quarter-finals here on Wednesday, was asked about his Twitter feed at a post-match press conference following his fourth-round victory over Dominic Thiem, the world No5. “Who you follow on Twitter I feel doesn’t matter even a little bit,” Sandgren said.

“What information you see doesn’t dictate what you think or believe. 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 this person believes’, I think that’s ridiculous.

“That’s not how information works. If you watch a news channel, you wouldn’t then say that person who is watching the news channel thinks everything that news channel puts out. You wouldn’t think that.”

He added: “You can ask me about my beliefs on things, that’s cool. But I think to lump in and say: ‘You follow this person, so then, wow, who are you?’ Ask me who I am. I’m perfectly fine answering those kinds of questions.”

Sandgren, who follows on Twitter, among others, Nigel Farage, Marechal Le Pen and Trump family members, was then asked if he supported some of the alt-right movement.

“No I don’t,” he replied. “I find some of the content interesting. But no, I don’t, not at all. As a firm Christian, I don’t support things like that, no. I support Christ and follow Him. That’s what I support.”