Schwartzman Reflects on Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic: "Now It's Not the Same in Grand Slams"
Retired since February, Diego Schwartzman looked back on his matches against the Big 3 in an interview with Tennis Channel.
The Argentine faced the trio of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic 23 times, securing just one victory—a quarterfinal win over the Spaniard in Rome (6-2, 7-5):
"Now, the round of 16 or quarterfinals of a Grand Slam aren’t the same without Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic.
I lost six or seven times against Rafa or Novak during the second week of a Major. Maybe I could have achieved something more, but I’m very happy with what I did."
El Peque particularly recalled his 2018 Roland-Garros quarterfinal against the Mallorcan. That day, the former world No. 8 nearly pulled off a stunning upset:
"I was really angry when the rain came because I was leading 6-4, 3-1 against Nadal. And after the rain, I only won four more games. A lot happened.
We resumed play 25 minutes after the rain stopped, then it rained again, and we only played the next day. Then the sun was shining, and the conditions were perfect for Rafa, who was a different player from the day before—an absolute beast.
It was very different, but he struggled because he wasn’t playing well, and I was playing my best tennis."
