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Australian Open 2018
Entertainment

I answer to Jesus alone, says tennis star amid Twitter controversy

by Eno Adeogun

Sandgren, 26, was forced to deny supporting the controversial alt-right movement when he received backlash over who he followed on social media.

He insisted he merely found "some of the content interesting".

The world number 97 read a statement on Wednesday from his phone addressing the scrutiny of his political beliefs after losing in the Australian Open quarter-finals against South Korea's Chung Hyeon.

He said: "With a handful of follows and some likes on Twitter, my fate has been sealed in your minds.

"You dehumanise with pen and paper and turn neighbour against neighbour. In so doing, you may actually find you're hastening the hell you wish to avoid, the hell we all wish to avoid.

"It is my firm belief that the highest value must be placed on the virtue of each individual, regardless of gender, race, religion or sexual orientation.

"It's my job to continue on this journey with the goal of becoming the best me I can and to embody the love Christ has for me, for I answer to Him and Him alone."

Sandgren has since changed his Twitter bio to insist what he will "write all tweets on a napkin first to order my thoughts" and that tweets he liked or retweeted "are not endorsements".

However, he has subsequently deleted all his messages on the social media platform bar one.

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