Luciana Aranguiz
09/20/2020 - 19:48
Clarín.com
sports
The triumph in three sets in a dramatic and long match against the Canadian Denis Shapovalov, which gave him a pass to the final of the 1,000 Masters in Rome, left Diego Schwartzman facing the possibility of achieving three unprecedented achievements for his career.
Because if he manages to beat Serbian Novak Djokovic this Monday in the final,
Peque
would win a triple prize that would come from the hand of the coronation.
A professional since 2010, Schwartzman has won three ATP titles.
In 2016, he inaugurated his record in
Istanbul
;
in 2018 he was crowned in
Rio de Janeiro
- his only title in a 500 and the most important of his career - and last year he won the
Los Cabos competition
.
In Rome he will have the chance to add the highest trophy to his personal harvest:
a Masters 1000
, something he has never achieved until now.
It would be the first of three hits that can come hand in hand with a victory.
The
Peque
could thus become the fourth Argentine to lift the trophy on Italian brick dust and the first to do so in
more than thirty years
.
The last sky blue and white champion of the contest was
Alberto Mancini
, who in 1989 defeated the American
Andre Agassi
, five in the world, in
five sets
in the final.
Before they had won the title Guillermo Vilas, in 1980, and José Luis Clerc, in 1981.
That smile says it all 😀
After 10 years on the Tour, @dieschwartzman reaches the most important result in his career.
📹: @TennisTV |
# IBI20 pic.twitter.com/rPSV8ECgaD
- ATP Tour in Spanish (@ATPTour_ES) September 20, 2020
Schwartzman would also cut a drought of
more than two years without Argentine titles in this category
, the second in importance on the circuit behind the Grand Slam, which started after the victory of Juan Martín Del Potro in Indian Wells in 2018.
The final against Djokovic will also be the first for
Peque
in a Masters 1,000.
Until this Sunday, his best performance had been achieved last year in this same contest, when he reached the semifinals, but he could not in that instance against the Serbian, who beat him in three sets.
Schwartzman will seek revenge against
Nole
, against whom he could sign the most important victory of his career.
Because the Buenosairean faced six times in the past to players located in the number one of the ranking, but in none could win.
This would be his first victory against a leader in the ATP ranks, the
second unique event in his career that would come with the title in Rome.
Last year, Djokovic beat Schwartzman in the semi-finals in Rome.
Will Peque get revenge this Monday?
Photo AP Photo / Andrew Medichini
He played four times against a ranking leader Rafael Nadal.
Three of those matches were in 2018: in the round of 16 of the Australian Open;
in the same instance of the Masters 1000 of Madrid;
and in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, in which the porteño played a great match against
Rafa
, in the tournament in which the Spaniard feels better.
And he came across it again at the end of last year, in one of the Davis Cup quarterfinal series matches in Madrid, which Spain ended up taking 2-1.
The other two matches against a number one were with Djokovic.
The first, in the first round of the Australian Open 2014;
and the second, last year, in the semis in Rome.
If you talk about the top 10, Schwartzman has a record of 8 wins and 28 losses.
The celebrations were achieved against Dominic Thiem (7th) in Montreal 2017 and Marin Cilic (7th) at the US Open, in 2017;
Kevin Anderson
(7th) at Roland Garros in 2018;
again against
Thiem
(8th) in Buenos Aires, against Kei Nishikori (6th) in Rome, Alexander Zverev (6th) in Flushing Meadows and
Karen Khachanov
(9th) in Vienna, in 2019;
and the great victory against
Nadal
(2nd) on Saturday, in the quarterfinals at the Foro Italico.
The third prize that
Peque
will win
if he hits the ball this Monday against Djokovic will be
a place among the ten best in the world
, a group he would reach for the first time.
After falling in the 2018 Roland Garros quarterfinals to Nadal, Schwartzman was 11th in the ranking, his best position.
Photo EFE / Caroline Blumberg
The porteño, who is today in the 15th step (although due to his great performance in Rome he will climb at least to 13th), was very close to getting into that elite a couple of seasons ago.
After reaching the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2018 and stealing a set in that match from Nadal, who ended up taking the victory 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2, the Argentine climbed to 11th place of ATP classification.
He remained in that position for six weeks, but after passing through Wimbledon, with a fall in the second round, he dropped to the 12th.
And although since then he has always remained in the top 30 of the ranking, he could never break the barrier of the top 10. Will he be hit on the brick dust of Rome?
It will not be easy, because he will face a very tough rival, whom he could never beat.
But the
Peque
arrives at a high level, with high confidence and with the motivation to have at hand the chance to write the most successful chapter of his career and to crown a magical week with a celebration in triplicate.
FK