2023-06-02 22:37:00
PARIS (Special envoy).– Diego Schwartzman he bites his lips. He turns his head toward the corner of court Suzanne-Lenglen, second in rank to Roland Garros, where the handful of people who accompany him are located. He looks for explanations, but can’t find them. He gets frustrated, adjusts his cap, curses, feels powerless, adjusts his cap again. Apart from the fact that his level is no longer that of other times, it is the rival who bears the greatest part of the blame for what happens on the brick dust. Stefanos Tsitsipasseeded fifth, finalist in the Bois de Boulogne two years ago, looks highly superior to Peque: in speed, impact purity, accuracy in the serve, displacements… There is no way back. This time, the porteño has no chance and says goodbye in the third wheel. The Greek forcefully defeats him by 6-2, 6-2 y 6-3en 2h3m.
There were a few rare moments in which Schwartzman asserted himself, managed to stop Tsitsipas’ clean and jerk, raised his arms trying to catch the applause that the public gave him and impacted with pepper and height…, but they did not prosper over time; They were ephemeral moments, barely. Tsitsipas, owner of a one-handed backhand and extraordinary athletic ability, gave the Argentine a hard time, who had arrived in Paris with very little energy and who, after winning two games (against the Spanish Bernabé Zapata Miralles and the Portuguese Nuno Borges), leaves at least a little better spirits, with a few more certainties than those he carried in his suitcase.
El Peque knew that defending the valuable 180 points for last year’s round of 16 was an important challenge (and complex considering his present), and that, failing to do so, would strip him of a place among the best hundred rackets of the world. That will happen: when the ranking is updatedthe player trained by Juan Ignacio Chela will go from 95th place to approximately 105th. Since the week of August 4, 2014, when she jumped from 100th to 98th, Schwartzman has always remained in the top 100, reaching her best position in October 2020 (8th).
Schwartzman had a opaque performance. Even, at times he allowed himself to be won by discouragement. She failed to pull out safely; in fact, he committed six double faultsachieved the 61% in first serveswon 58% of points with the first serve and only the 29% with the second. Tsitsipas broke his serve six times. Schwartzman, who achieved the best result of his career in Grand Slam tournaments by reaching the semifinals of Roland Garros 2020 and, with 23 wins, is the second Argentine in victories at the French Open, said goodbye with uncertainty about the future. Tsitsipas, likewise, left the field knowing that the Austrian Sebastian Ofner118th and who beat the Italian Fabio Fognini in five sets, he will be his rival in the round of 16 (in the quarterfinals he can meet Carlos Alcaraz).
Excellent backhand from Tsitsipas outside the net
“The balance of the tournament is positive. After several months of quickly leaving tournaments, winning two Grand Slam matches is spectacular. Being able to spend several days in the big tournaments leaves you something positive. Regarding my level, I still have a lot to correct. You have to make good decisions off the pitch to keep the game flowing. Now you have to rest and compete, as I always did, taking those breaks as I did ten days ago in Mallorca, which gives me a plus over the course of the year”, Schwartzman pointed out, at the press conference, before leaving Roland Garros .
Schwartzman compact vs. tsitsipas
What feeling did Tsitsipas’ game leave you with? “He is an aggressive player, we play many times, he loves to dominate with his forehand. He was a bit difficult at the beginning, he cost me. Today it was cool in Paris, we started playing almost at night and my ball ran less. At times, where I could have gotten into the game, he didn’t let me, and at others, I made mistakes. That led me to always be down in the score and with players like him it’s impossible to get in”, acknowledged Schwartzman, who will continue to be accompanied by Chela as coach until the US Open and then they will see how they continue.
Regarding his immediate future, Schwartzman contributed: “I don’t have to think about the ranking and I do have to think simply about the tournaments that I can enter and be competitive in the second semester. That way I will be able to win games”.
THE NATION
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