Sandgren will play Briton Cameron Norrie in today’s decider, a clash of two players pursuing maiden ATP singles titles.
Both dominated semifinals bereft of seeded players in hot conditions yesterday.
The 27-year-old American was especially impressive in a swift dismissal of veteran German Philipp Kohlshreiber, needing 70 minutes to prevail 6-4, 6-2.
Sandgren, the last player accepted into the main draw, has not dropped a set all week and is approaching the form that took him to the final eight in Melbourne last year.
The highest-ranked quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in 22 years, Sandgren toppled Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka before losing a battle of the outsiders against South Korean Chung Hyeon.
Now ranked 63rd, Sandgren is confident heading into just his second ATP final.
"It’s nice to see the nice work I’ve put in over the last month and a-half come into fruition right now," he said.
"That’s really gratifying for me. Philipp’s a great player. He kind of tuned me up the last time we played. So feeling like I might be improving is a good feeling."
The 27-year-old is four years older than Norrie and ranked 30 places higher.
However, left-hander Norrie has also impressed, displaying more energy than German Jan-Lennard Struff to win 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Johannesburg-born and raised in Auckland, Norrie has been adopted by the home crowd despite switching allegiance to Great Britain six years ago.
The former junior New Zealand tennis representative thanked the crowd after outlasting Struff, who struggled in the wake of a three-hour quarterfinal the previous night.
"It’s so special to get through. It’s my first final so to do it at home means so much to me," he said.
"It’s such an honour to be playing on the court where I grew up. I’m a little bit shaky but it feels great."
Meanwhile, New Zealander Michael Venus and South African partner Raven Klaasen last night progressed to the doubles final with a stunning win over Mike and Bob Bryan.
The Bryan brothers have garnered 34 grand slam titles between them but were not in the contest, beaten 6-4, 6-1 in only 53 minutes.
Venus and Klaasen were superb, in possibly their best performance as a combination.
They broke the Bryans at will, and the victory was extra special for Venus, who had never been on the winning side against the American greats in his doubles career. They will meet Ben McLachlan and Jan-Leonard Struff in today’s final.
Queenstown-based McLachan, who represents Japan, and Struff beat Croatian Mate Pavic and Austrian Oliver Marach 6-4, 6-7, 11-9 in last night’s semifinal.
- AAP/NZME
