ATP Masters Rome: The next bankruptcy - what's going on with Diego Schwartzman?
Diego Schwartzman retired early at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. The Argentine just doesn't want to get really in shape this year.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: May 11, 2021, 07:21 pm
If good memories can make a difference, Rome would have been the place for Diego Schwartzman. In 2020 the Argentine came to the Eternal City after a rather mixed comeback in Kitzbühel with the quarter-final defeat against Laslo Djere, where he was able to prevail in the round of eight with a sensational performance against Rafael Nadal and was only defeated in the final to Novak Djokovic.
The reward was the first-time qualification for the ATP final in London, a yardstick by which Diego Schwartzman will of course measure himself. After all, the 2021 season has brought one highlight so far: the home win in Buenos Aires. On the way there Schwartzman only had to beat one player from the top 100 (Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarter-finals), but it doesn't matter: tournament victory is tournament victory.
Schwartzman with problems against the youngsters
In the past few weeks, Dominic Thiem's 28-year-old friend has not been going well. The young players in particular caused problems for Schwartzman: Lorenzo Musetti in Acapulco, Sebastian Korda in Miami and Casper Ruud in Monte Carlo were able to look forward to victories against the current number ten in the world, and Félix Auger-Aliassime joined them in Rome another youngster in this series. 6: 1 and 6: 3 for the Canadian, that was not to be expected. Especially not on ashes.
Where Schwartzman ran into the amazing Aslan Karatsev in Madrid for the second time this year. And as had already drawn the short straw at the Australian Open. The bad news for Schwartzman: In the Caja Magica, Karatsev's average performance was enough to prevail in the second round match.
Diego Schwartzman must therefore cling to the next good memory: And it dates from the French Open last year, where he was able to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time after an epic five-set win against Dominic Thiem. Until then, in contrast to a “normal” tennis year, this time there are two free weeks. Diego Schwartzman will probably use one of them to get better.
Here the single tableau in Rome
rommap