Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman says he will enter his showdown with Rafael Nadal with the mentality that he has what it takes to stun the 13-time French Open champion.
The world No.10 is through to his third quarter-final at Roland Garros after defeating Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(9), 6-4, 7-5. Overall, it is the fifth time he has reached the last eight of a major which is the fourth highest ever achieved by an Argentine man. Schwartzman is also one of two men yet to have dropped a set in this year’s tournament.
Next up for the 28-year-old is a showdown with Nadal in what many describe as the one of the biggest tests in the sport. The Spaniard has only ever been defeated twice at the tournament by Robin Soderling in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in 2015. He has won 104 main draw matches played at the Grand Slam.
“I think at the beginning of every match against Rafa, you have to walk on the court thinking to win the match, to have opportunities and to get opportunities,” Schwartzman said during his press conference.
“Think about something else and not about Rafa on the other side of the net. If you think about Rafa in Roland Garros, he’s very difficult to play.”
“You have to go to court, think about the tactics and think about how to play your best game,” he added.
On paper the numbers don’t look good for Schwartzman when playing against the king of clay. He has lost 10 out of 11 matches played against Nadal on the Tour, including twice at the French Open in 2018 and 2020. However, his only win did occur on clay at the Italian Open last year.
“Playing against Rafa in these kinds of tournaments, it’s always a good step, a good time to know how good you are playing,” he said. “It’s always a good challenge. I know we played two times here were good matches, and now let’s see what happens.”
Looking ahead to his quarter-final clash, Nadal says he will not be underestimating the abilities of his rival. He has now won 35 sets in a row at the tournament and is through to the last eight of a major for the 44th time in his career which is the third highest tally in the Open Era.
“It is always a challenge to play against him,” Nadal said following his win over Jannik Sinner. “I need to play well, which I think I am doing. But of course he is coming with confidence of winning a couple of great matches.’
“So let’s see. It’s the quarter-finals of perhaps probably the best tournament in the world so you can’t expect an easy opponent. That’s how it is and I hope to be ready for it (the match).”
Schwartzman has a win-loss record of 9-36 against top 10 opposition heading into the French Open semi-finals.
