"As a firm Christian, I don't support things like that, no."
Among the deleted tweets was one from November 2016 where Sandgren appeared to back the debunked Pizzagate on-line conspiracy which had linked Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to a supposed child sex abuse ring at a Washington pizzeria. Earlier this month, he retweeted a video from white nationalist Nicholas Fuentes.
"Who you follow on Twitter, I feel like doesn't matter even a little bit," Sandgren said. "What information you see doesn't dictate what you think or believe and I think it's crazy to assume that.
"To say 'well he's following X person so he believes all the things that this person believes', I think that's ridiculous."
After deleting 18 months worth of tweets on Monday night, his most recent one is now from June 23, 2016 which reads: "Freedom wins #Brexit".
The American world No97 plays South Korean Hyeon Chung in the quarter-finals today.
Earlier in the day, Chung's first round opponent, German Mischa Zverev, was slapped with a record grand slam fine of $US45,000 ($61,400) for an "unprofessional" performance.
Zverev retired 48 minutes into the match while trailing Chung 6-2 4-1.
But officials have clearly not accepted the world No35's excuse that he was suffering from a "viral illness".
Zverev is the first victim of a new rule introduced to combat the spate of first-round retirements that have plagued the majors in recent years. His fine represents almost all of his prizemoney for losing in the first round.
On court, a year after opting out of qualifying for the Australian Open, Elise Mertens was the first woman into the semifinals in her debut at the season-opening major.
Mertens upset fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-0 yesterday to extend her winning streak to 10 matches. She's the first Belgian since Kim Clijsters in 2012 to reach the semifinals in Australia.
She trains at Clijsters' academy and knew the four-time major winner was watching on TV.
"Kim, thanks for watching, I knew you sent me a message before the match - don't be too stressy," Mertens said. "I'm trying to be in your footsteps this week."
The No37-ranked Mertens successfully defended her Hobart International title - she decided last year to target that title instead of entering Open qualifying - two weeks ago, and has now won five matches at Melbourne Park.
Mertens dominated against Svitolina, who also entered her first quarter-final in Australia on a nine-match winning roll after winning the Brisbane International two week ago.
Svitolina had won their only previous tour-level match.
- AP/AAP
