Tennys Sandgren was not really hoping for things to transpire quite like they did at the Atlantic Tire Championships Challenger event in Cary.
During the initial stages of the first round, all seemed to be going smooth for Sandgren against Christopher Eubanks. He broke in the very first game of the opening set and was also ahead in his service game 40-30.
However, he suddenly seemed to lose his cool after an unforced error brought the game to deuce.
Sandgren’s loss is Eubank’s gain
Sandgren then experienced a bizarre and disappointing series of events.
Despite the fact that much of what happened took place without live broadcast, it appeared that a ball kid accidentally bounced a ball into Sandgren’s groin, immediately apologizing with a “sorry”.
Sandgren could not control his emotions and lashed out in frustration, possibly over more than just the missed forehand, given his poor season. Despite the fact that it wasn’t in front of the camera, Sandgren can clearly be heard swinging angrily at a linesperson.
So tonight I got hit in the nuts by a ball kid toss with a little too much mustard, slapped the wayward ball into the fence, which collided with a refs tushy as he was walking to the other side, resulting in a default.
— Tennys Sandgren (@TennysSandgren) September 15, 2021
How’s your evening going? ? pic.twitter.com/Tqe7lOkCLy
Sandgren apologized for what he did and shrugged his shoulders apologetically, but it cost him the match.
“I got to call him (the supervisor) to the court,” the chair umpire said, giving Sandgren a point penalty and then defaulting him in collaboration with the supervisor. Eubanks won with the score at 0-1, 40-40.
Sometimes you really do win tennis matches without moving a muscle.
Sandgren suffered yet another defeat in his dreadful 2021 campaign. He’s now 8-20 for the year, and he’s dropped from World No. 49 in January 2021 to World No. 103 this week, according to ATP tour.
Sandgren has found plenty of time to reflect on what he did and try to change his attitude on the court, given his short stay in the Cary draw this week.
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