The 2020 tennis year of ... Diego Schwartzman
Diego Schwartzman turned up especially after the Corona break - thanks to a very special match in Rome.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit:
Dec 15, 2020, 10:55 am
Diego Schwartzman started 2020 as world number 14, and that was rather mediocre. At the ATP Cup he resisted Hubert Hurkacz, Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, but in the end it was "only" enough for a victory over Borna Coric. At the Australian Open he did the compulsory tasks confidently, but in the round of 16 against Novak Djokovic he was 3: 6, 4: 6, 4: 6 without a chance. A final in Cordoba and a semi-final in Buenos Aires followed on clay before the (tennis) world sank into a corona shutdown.
Schwartzman: Rome was worth the trip
In the end, Schwartzman himself described what followed pretty well: "Tennis is crazy," he said in Rome in September after a match that would accompany him for the rest of the season. Because his restart into the season had gone extremely badly. Out in round 2 at the Southern and Western Open, first round loss at the US Open (in five sets against Cameron Norrie).
Then came Rome: Schwartzman fought John Millman and Hubert Hurkacz here before meeting Rafael Nadal. And delivered one of the best games of his career! Under his conditions: The weather in Rome was wet, especially in the evening, the balls damp and heavy, making Nadal's topspin much less effective - which meant that Schwartzman, who was only 1.70 meters tall, did not have to master the balls above shoulder height too often. Result: 6: 2, 7: 5, after nine defeats against the Spaniard. "The past three weeks have been really bad for me. Yesterday I still thought that I was going to Hamburg to get some rhythm in the first round. I didn't play well, and today I'll be playing the best tennis of my life." , Schwartzman was pleased accordingly .
Is tennis a thing of the mind? For Schwartzman, Rome was the proof. He played his way into the final after a three-sentence thriller against Denis Shapovalov, where the strength against a strong Novak Djokovic was not enough.
But the self-confidence for Paris: Schwartzman did not make a sentence until the quarter-finals, where he wrestled Dominic Thiem in five sentences - although he made life difficult for himself at times, leaving many chances in sentences two and three. At the end there was a 7: 6 (1), 5: 7, 6: 7 (6), 7: 6 (5), 6: 2. Against Nadal in the semifinals, however, it was not enough for a second miracle, here it was over in three sets.
A final in Cologne followed, a quarter-final at the Paris Masters and the first qualification for the ATP Finals. There, however, the good Diego remained without a win against Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic.
Diego Schwartzman: His 2020 in numbers
- Match record: 25 wins, 15 defeats
- Career-High: 8th place (October 12, 2020)
- Best result ever in a Grand Slam tournament: semi-finals at the French Open