Tennys Sandgren of the US hits a return against Germany's Maximilian Marterer during their men's singles third round match on day six of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 20, 2018. Pic/ AFP 

Those who believe in nominative determinism might see little surprise in Tennys Sandgren's brilliant run to the fourth round of the Australian Open. The player, himself, was tickled pink by his achievement after downing Germany's Maximilian Marterer 5-7 6-3 7-5 7-6(5) on Saturday to be the last man standing of 13 Americans in the draw. "It's kind of silly, right? It feels kind of silly," the 97th-ranked Tennessee native told reporters after his nearly three-hour win at a raucous Show Court Two.