Diego Schwartzman did not win a single ATP title, but he finished his brekthrough season inside the top 10 and qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in London for the first time in his career.
The Argentine player enjoyed the biggest win of his career last September, when he beat Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-5 in the quarter finals and Denis Shapovalov 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-4) to reach his first Masters 1000 final. Schwartzman lost the title match against Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-3.
The win over Nadal in the Italian capital was a confidence booster for Schwartzman, who beat Dominic Thiem in five sets at Roland Garros 7-6 (7-1) 5-7 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal.
“The win over Nadal in Rome gave me confidence and I used the momentum to beat Shapovalov. I had to dig deep against the Canadian player. I stayed focused and kept a positive spirit. Those two wins are among the best of my career”, said Schwartzman.
Schwartzman believes he has never played so well as in the match against Nadal. What made this result surprising was that Schwartzman prevailed on Nadal’s best surface in the tournament, where the Spanaiard won nine titles.
“For sure it was my first match ever. I played a few times against the Big Three. I never beat them until my win over Nadal in Rome. I played my best tennis. It was very similar to Roland Garros against Rafa three years ago and I am very happy. I was not thinking to beat him really because I was not playing good lately, but today I did my best and I am very happy. I played against him nine times before. Four of five times I was not close, but playing really well and close in the score, feeling well. I came to the court trying to do the same things and the first set was really good for me. I took every chance he gave me. Later, I told myself that even if I lost the second set, I would have my chance in the third set. I stayed very focused and I think that was the key”, said Schwartzman.
Schwartzman expressed regret that there were no fans in the stands during the match.
“It’s sad that there was no fans. It was not the best tournament to beat Rafael Nadal for the first time, but I am now focused on the semifinal. I have to rest well because I want to go to the final. This victory was huge. I was not playing very well before I got here. I had pain in my left hand. It’s crazy because if you have seen my matches in the previous three weeks, it was unthinkable”.
