MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 24: Tennys Sandgren of the United States plays a forehand during his Men's Singles third round match against Sam Querrey of the United States on day five of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 24, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

The greatest men’s tennis player of all-time, Roger Federer, is set to face off against Tennys Sandgren for the first time in their careers. 

Monday night marks a first-time match two years in the making. American Tennys Sandgren is set to face off against Swiss Roger Federer. The match takes place in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the first major of 2020.

In 2018, Sandgren made the run of a lifetime at the Australian Open. It was Sandgren’s first time at the Australian Open. He had only played in two majors before and had never won a match at a grand slam event.

So when Sandgren showed up in 2018, there weren’t any expectations. Then he beat French star Jeremy Chardy in straight sets to earn his first victory at a major. Still, nothing was expected of Sandgren, especially since he was set to face Swiss superstar Stan Wawrinka in round two.

Sandgren shocked the world once again. He didn’t just beat Wawrinka, he demolished him in straight sets, 6-2 6-1 6-4. The match was never close. After another win, he found himself in the fourth-round against the fifth-best player in the world, Austrian star Dominic Thiem.

It took five sets, but Sandgren pulled off one of the biggest upsets that year. The issue is that he ran into a buzzsaw in South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, who beat both Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic that year.

It was a battle of two young rising stars who had shocked the world to get to that spot. The winner would face Roger Federer in the semifinals, but Sandgren fell short of that matchup.

Chung would injure himself early in his match against Federer and retire shortly into the second set. Federer would win the Australian Open.

Fast-forward two years and Sandgren hasn’t made it to a quarterfinal at a major since. Meanwhile, Federer hasn’t won a major since.

Tennys Sandgren came into the tournament ranked at 100th in the world. Then he beat the No. 8 ranked Matteo Berrettini, fellow American Sam Querrey, and 12th ranked player in the world Fabio Fognini.

It’s another special run for the 28-year-old American. Now he finally has his shot to take down Federer in the Aussie Open. The man named after the sport he plays will face off against the greatest to ever play. It should make for an unforgettable afternoon at Rod Laver Arena.

The match is tentatively set to begin at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

A contributor here at elitesportsny.com. I'm a former graduate student at Loyola University Chicago here I earned my MA in History. I'm an avid Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers fan. I am also a prodigious prospect nerd and do in-depth statistical analysis.