Tennys Sandgren Progressing Upstairs

Tennys Sandgren finished the year in epic fashion by winning his very first challenger in Champaign, IL, a run that will vault him to a career high ranking of 187 to end the year. It wasn't the most challenging run we've seen on the challenger tour but the path to 80 ATP points don't factor in degree of difficulty. And that's not to say there weren't some impressive wins along the way, even if most guys in the draw were already thinking about the offseason.

Here was his run:

1st Round d. F. Peliwo 6-0, 6-1
2nd Round d. J. Sock 7-6 (8), 6-1
QF d. J. P. Smith 6-2, 6-0
SF d. D. Smethurst 7-5, 6-3
F d. S. Groth 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)

By late in the first set of the semis Sandgren was running on fumes as a result of the tax that is a year long tennis season, but he was able to dig deep and find that extra gear. You might ask how he survived a buster in the 3rd the next day, but fortunately for him a match against Sam Groth means short points.

I've been able to watch Sandgren play the last few weeks and let me first say potential was never the issue. The dude is built thick and he can pop the ball as good as anyone on tour. For Sandgren the issue has always been upstairs, like for so many American players. But he's a hard worker and he's got a big game that would lead one to believe he's good enough to have a good career.

What immediately jumps out at me the last month is Sandgren's transformation, both physically and mentally. Compared to this time last year he is much stronger and physically imposing. He's always had that thickness to him, but you can tell he has worked extremely hard to enhance durability. From a fitness standpoint that obviously paid off and he was able to stand long enough to hoist a title after a 3rd set breaker in the finals. But it's mentally that Sandgren has made the biggest strides. Instead of the outbursts and high strung court demeanor I'm used to seeing, I've seen a composed and collected tennis player, focused on his gameplan. What Sandgren is doing is not rocket science... it's first strike tennis. If he can focus and commit to it, it's not a terribly involved plan... he just has to execute. And execute he's been doing. He echoed as much in a short twitter exchange below:

@BaselineBagels @jokelley 90% mental.. Thanks guys
— Tennys Sandgren (@TennysSandgren) November 15, 2013

There is no doubt he will face much more frustrating tournaments and matches in his future, so the question will be if he can maintain that same even keel mental approach consistently. If he can, he's absolutely a player to watch in 2014. As good as the crop of Ryan Harrison, Donald Young, Jack Sock, Tim Smyczek and company are potential wise, Sandgren is a player that has the tools to be in the mix. And he's already a step ahead of most of those guys upstairs based on what I've seen in the last month.