Diego Schwartzman is just one win away from clinching an ATP Finals birth, but Daniil Medvedev stands in his way, who is not exactly Diego’s favorite person.
Rafael Nadal can also help Schwartzman qualify for London if he defeats Pablo Carreno Busta today. While Milos Raonic has been mathematically eliminated from qualification, the Canadian looks to advance to his second consecutive hard court Masters 1,000 semifinal, against a 22-year-old Frenchman who has survived three consecutive three-setters this week. And in the day’s last quarterfinal, what will Sascha Zverev have left after last night’s grueling three-hour encounter with Adrian Mannarino? He’ll face Stan Wawrinka, who took out the red-hot Andrey Rublev on Thursday.
Daniil Medvedev (3) vs. Diego Schwartzman (6)
A few week ago, when speaking to Spanish-language website puntodebreak.com, Schwartzman referred to Medvedev as “a moron” and “a fool.” These comments stem from their most recent meeting, which occurred at the start of this year during the inaugural ATP Cup. After securing the first set, Medvedev celebrated in a taunting manner, earning him a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct, as well as the disdain of Schwartzman. When asked in press yesterday about his relationship with Daniil, Diego softened his stance, referring to their relationship as “okay.” However, there will surely be some bitter feelings as these two men walk onto court today. Overall, Medvedev leads their head-to-head 3-0, with all three matches taking place since October 2018. But Schwartzman has been the better player since the US Open, both on clay and indoor hard courts. Diego is 15-3 since leaving New York, and has reached the semifinals or better at his last three events. During that same span, Daniil has gone just 5-4. And while Medvedev needed three sets yesterday to overcome Alex de Minaur, Schwartzman dropped just two games against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. With the memories of their ATP Cup spat on his mind, Diego will be keen to avenge that loss. Based on recent form, I like his chances.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Rafael Nadal (1) vs. Pablo Carreno Busta (9). Nadal is 6-0 against his fellow Spaniard, losing only one of 13 sets played.
Sascha Zverev (4) vs. Stan Wawrinka (12). Sascha is 3-0 against Stan. While all three matches were played on hard courts, none were decided in straight sets.
Milos Raonic (10) vs. Ugo Humbert. This will be their first career meeting. Prior to this week, Humbert only owned two match wins as Masters 1,000 events.
Full order of play is here.
