Diego Schwartzman: When small men cast large shadows

Red Rick

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
Aaaaight. Thanks to the moderators for moving this baby

So today Diego won his first ATP 500 in Rio, but I'd been following for a little while longer. He's been steadily on the rise for a while now, and if you haven't seen he's got one of the biggest hearts on Tour, then you've been living under a stone #sorrytotellyoumate

With his win today, Diego will reach a career high #18 on the ATP world ranking. I think him reaching top 15 is all but given at this point. I have hopes he can make the top 10 this year, but how high can Diego Schwartzman go? Can he stand above them all?

tumblr_oys3n0BbaH1r384iro1_1280.gif
 
Last edited:
D

Deleted member 743561

Guest
Can the spoiler concept apply to hypotheticals and guaranteed future events, as well?
 
Mainad

Mainad

Bionic Poster
Red Rick said:
Aaaaight.

So today Diego won his first ATP 500 in Rio, but I'd been following for a little while longer. He's been steadily on the rise for a while now, and if you haven't seen he's got one of the biggest hearts on Tour, then you've been living under a stone #sorrytotellyoumate

With his win today, Diego will reach a career high #18 on the ATP world ranking. I think him reaching top 15 is all but given at this point. I have hopes he can make the top 10 this year, but how high can Diego Schwartzman go? Can he stand above them all?

tumblr_oys3n0BbaH1r384iro1_1280.gif
Click to expand...

Quite possibly but he might have to adopt the Dudi Sela approach! :D

 
tennis4me

tennis4me

Hall of Fame
It makes it even more impressive for him to win on clay where rallies often goes very long and covers quite a bit of distance. Kudos to him.
 
Keizer

Keizer

Hall of Fame
There's a very nice profile of him over at the ATP website where he talks about his relationships with some of the other (mostly Argentine) players on the tour and the path he had to take to reach where he is today. He mentions playing Futures from when he was 16 or so, because he couldn't afford to travel the world to play junior tour events. Some other nice nuggets include his relationships with Juan Monaco and Jared Donaldson, and he also reserves special mention for Ferrer (I think of Schwartzman as Ferrer's spiritual successor on the tour), and how they've talked about adjusting to life being among the smaller players on the tour. Seems like an all-around good guy, and his story is inspirational. Look at a Nadal playing at court level, see how high his ball pitches, and imagine what it must be like to play best of 5 against him when you're 5'7 and 140 pounds. This guy amazes me, and I hope he continues to outdo himself.
 
Keizer

Keizer

Hall of Fame
There's a very nice profile of him over at the ATP website where he talks about his relationship with some of the other (mostly Argentine) players on the tour and the path he had to take to reach where he is today. He mentions playing Futures from when he was 16 or so, because he couldn't afford to travel the world to play junior tour events. Some other nice nuggets include his relationships with Juan Monaco and Jared Donaldson, and he also reserves special mention for Ferrer (I think Schwartzman is Ferrer's spiritual successor on the tour), and how they've talked about adjusting to life being among the smaller players on the tour. Seems like an all-around good guy, and his story is inspirational. Look at a Nadal playing court level, see how high his ball pitches, and imagine what it must be like to play best of 5 against him when you're 5'7. This guy amazes me, and I hope he continues
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
I've done some analysis of the rankings right now, and Schwartzman is definitely set to get closer to the top 10 by default. The annoying thing for him is that the bottom end of the top 10 scored most of their points very late in their season last year, so they're not gonna drop much. Querrey is defending Acapulco next week, Kyrgios is out of Acapulco, so Schwartzman may improve his ranking by 2 spots regardless of how he fares in Acapulco.

Diego doesn't defend very much during the clay season at all, and QFs in Montreal and the USO are the only scores he's likely to lose points on. One thing very much in his favour is that he's likely playing the Hamburg 500 in an incredibly **** field, so he might pick up 500 points there too.

Good news for Diego is that his numbers on HC are almost as good as on clay, so if he's playing well he can gain plenty of points everywhere. Only dead part of the season for him is grass, and he's 0-6 on grass lifetime.

Calling it now. Schwartzman to beat Federer en route to the title.
 
Meles

Meles

Bionic Poster
Red Rick said:
Aaaaight.

So today Diego won his first ATP 500 in Rio, but I'd been following for a little while longer. He's been steadily on the rise for a while now, and if you haven't seen he's got one of the biggest hearts on Tour, then you've been living under a stone #sorrytotellyoumate

With his win today, Diego will reach a career high #18 on the ATP world ranking. I think him reaching top 15 is all but given at this point. I have hopes he can make the top 10 this year, but how high can Diego Schwartzman go? Can he stand above them all?

tumblr_oys3n0BbaH1r384iro1_1280.gif
Click to expand...
Diego is 9th in points since Wimbledon last year. The only big points through Wimbledon he's defending is 180 points for QF at Monte Carlo last year. For all practical purposes he's already a top ten player with his recent success. With a couple more big results he could be tracking for as high as #4 by the end of Wimbledon and possibly #5 by the end of RG if Zverev continues to stumble.
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
Meles said:
Diego is 9th in points since Wimbledon last year. The only big points through Wimbledon he's defending is 180 points for QF at Monte Carlo last year. For all practical purposes he's already a top ten player with his recent success. With a couple more big results he could be tracking for as high as #4 by the end of Wimbledon and possibly #5 by the end of RG if Zverev continues to stumble.
Click to expand...
When you're trying to make somewhat reasonable predictions and The Jynx himself comes in.
 
mike danny

mike danny

Bionic Poster
Diego has certainly improved since the first time I heard of him, which was at 2015 Istanbul against Federer. Didn't make Fedr's life easy in that one.
 
Meles

Meles

Bionic Poster
Red Rick said:
When you're trying to make somewhat reasonable predictions and The Jynx himself comes in.
Click to expand...
I'm not predicting 4 or 5. Top 10 is a done deal. Those are just the upper limits that are possible if he gets a few more big results and Zverev does not right the ship, etc., etc.. By the end of RG, only Cilic, Dimitrov, and Fedal out of range. Post Wimbledon just Fedal and Dimitrov remain beyond Diego's grasp.

I didn't create this thread and jinx Diego.:rolleyes: It seems quite certain he'll greatly exceed last years results during this period, but by how much? I'd not care to speculate, but he was high up my list of clay courters for the upcoming season and easily top 10 on clay in my mind before 2018 clay started. Its a familiar pattern for younger players so you're really being far to conservative if you think Diego is going to be like 15-20 on clay. I'll pump his stats probably after Miami and come up with a prediction, but Diego on hard courts might get it done before then.:D
Now that's a jinx.;)
 
EloQuent

EloQuent

Legend
Meles hype aside, Diego is a clay specialist going into clay season at his career high. Should be interesting to see how far he can go.

Also, I don't like nicknames based on shortness, it's not nice really. Maybe we should call him something like Big Schwartz.
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
Meles said:
I'm not predicting 4 or 5. Top 10 is a done deal. Those are just the upper limits that are possible if he gets a few more big results and Zverev does not right the ship, etc., etc.. By the end of RG, only Cilic, Dimitrov, and Fedal out of range. Post Wimbledon just Fedal and Dimitrov remain beyond Diego's grasp.

I didn't create this thread and jinx Diego.:rolleyes: It seems quite certain he'll greatly exceed last years results during this period, but by how much? I'd not care to speculate, but he was high up my list of clay courters for the upcoming season and easily top 10 on clay in my mind before 2018 clay started. Its a familiar pattern for younger players so you're really being far to conservative if you think Diego is going to be like 15-20 on clay. I'll pump his stats probably after Miami and come up with a prediction, but Diego on hard courts might get it done before then.:D
Now that's a jinx.;)
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I was thinking Schwartzman should be top 8, maybe top 5 or higher on clay and top 12-15ish on HC. And maybe win a match on grass.
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
EloQuent said:
Meles hype aside, Diego is a clay specialist going into clay season at his career high. Should be interesting to see how far he can go.

Also, I don't like nicknames based on shortness, it's not nice really. Maybe we should call him something like Big Schwartz.
Click to expand...
We could also just translate the name from German and call him Black Man
 
Gary Duane

Gary Duane

Talk Tennis Guru
Red Rick said:
Aaaaight.

So today Diego won his first ATP 500 in Rio, but I'd been following for a little while longer. He's been steadily on the rise for a while now, and if you haven't seen he's got one of the biggest hearts on Tour, then you've been living under a stone #sorrytotellyoumate

With his win today, Diego will reach a career high #18 on the ATP world ranking. I think him reaching top 15 is all but given at this point. I have hopes he can make the top 10 this year, but how high can Diego Schwartzman go? Can he stand above them all?

tumblr_oys3n0BbaH1r384iro1_1280.gif
Click to expand...
Thanks.

You JERK.

Read the forum. I was about to watch the matches, finally got time free, but you ruined it.

Thanks a lot.
 
Meles

Meles

Bionic Poster
Red Rick said:
I was thinking Schwartzman should be top 8, maybe top 5 or higher on clay and top 12-15ish on HC. And maybe win a match on grass.
Click to expand...
I just looked at the range and who knows what is going to happen on clay. That Jarry from Chile looked pretty darn impressive. We don't really know what will happen to the presumptive 1-2 on clay this year (Nadal/Thiem; the Big Duo) because just not a lot of matches with some of these players. Friend of mine came over to watch Diego beat Fiasco (and predicted Fiasco:rolleyes:). This Rafa fan now sees Diego as a threat to Rafa:
1. Diego took a set from Rafa at Auz so he's a threat to both Thiem and Nadal (both high spin players)
2. Verdasco could do the unthinkable to Nadal as well on clay
3. Coric has impressive record versus Nadal and Thiem
4. Pouille has impressive record versus Nadal and Thiem
5. Goffin just beat Nadal at WTF and a real sore spot for Thiem

Fiasco won't get far on clay for long (just not that great) so more encounters with the Big Duo on clay unlikely, but Diego, Coric, Pouille, and Goffin way up on my list on clay in 2018 so these matches may well go down and the upsets of both Thiem and Nadal may flow especially if Rafa is the least bit gimpy.:oops:
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
smoledman said:
I guess he's the next David Ferrer, no?
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Tough call to make. I think he probably has a worse serve, worse movement, but a better backhand, better hands and he can take the ball really early. He's also not that underpowered from the baseline.

I think he's pretty inconsistent sometimes though, and when he sprays few errors he doesn't hold, he doesn't break, and he can lose 4/5 games in a row in 12 minutes or whatever.
 
Meles

Meles

Bionic Poster
Gary Duane said:
Thanks.

You JERK.

Read the forum. I was about to watch the matches, finally got time free, but you ruined it.

Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
Its supposed to be safe in General Pro, but you never should have come in this thread if you were planning to watch that replay. I'm very good at guessing so if I'm planning to watch replays I don't go to any tennis site. Frankly the presence of a Diego Schwartzman thread would have tipped the result to me and it may have to you. There is so much to watch I'd almost rather know the result before watching a replay.

Trying coming here after a slam final. You'll see about 20 thread titles that will give away the result of the final.:rolleyes: I've got access to Tennis TV replays and they are pretty good about not burning you, but yesterday I came in to watch replay of the end of Tiafoe match with Chung and got burned by the semi-final match pairing being up on the live page I reflexively go to (tennis tv site default). Been busy (but not today finally), so I've been on hiatus from here for live matches because I've been catching up on replays and then jumping in at end of live match while still on. My favorite gag is to look at the match length of a replay which tells you if its 2 or 3 sets and then just jump to the last 10-15 minutes of every match of interest. If you really want to watch a replay on tennis TV you have to start it and get to full screen and never pause or do anything because otherwise you see the length of the match and start guessing if its 2 or 3 sets (I've made enhancements suggestions like showing all matches as 3.5 hours, but they've yet to be done). Sometimes know the result before watching the replay allows you to jump through a recording to the key points of the match. You can tape over their progress bar as well, but I've not device a blocking aid for my big screen tv as it just seems ridiculous.:oops:
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Dark Helmet is indeed powerful and able to cast a large shadow but Lone Starr, the one with the elegant strokes, will always befuddle him:

 
F

Forehand_Slice

Semi-Pro
Very deserved win for Diego. Much more satisfying than the last title, winning from a Dimitrov meltdown.

Last few years, he really has transitioned well, from a challenger journeyman to an elite top ATP player.
He has an incredible amount of heart, but his height will always be a limitation.

Potential wise, I'd say he has a lower peak than a Nishikori or even Goffin, two other Top 10 on the shorter side.
He is very solid and a great returner though, kinda like a shorter Ferrer with much less stamina.
His limit in Slams likely 4th Round/QF, his legs will run out by then.
 
G

Gizo

Legend
Tiafoe and Schwartzman winning titles on the same day is just brilliant. Definitely a positive and feel-good day for the tour.
 
rushhr

rushhr

Rookie
Raindogs said:
Mini Matt Damon does have tremendous ability to turn defense into offense and is no doubt a world class mover on the court.

A fun guy to watch and root for, no doubt about it.
Click to expand...

that's hilarious. he's straight outta good will hunting
 
B

BlackSilver

Semi-Pro
Red Rick said:
Tough call to make. I think he probably has a worse serve, worse movement, better hands
Click to expand...

Not sure if I agree with these.

He improved his serve IMO. Like Goffin. I wouldn't be surprised if his first serve is more dangerous now than guys like Nishikori, Davydenko or Ferrer. He is not hitting a lot of aces for chance. His second serve is trash, far worst than Ferrer's and a few players will be capable of exposing it (like Nadal did at AO)

I personally think he has more agility than Ferrer, which has some basis since Ferrer is a fairly bulky player.

Finally I think he has very bad hands, nearly never try a drop shot, even on clay.


Anyway, for me he is following a Goffin's path, improved his serve, but his unstable forehand and weak second serve will be the main factors limiting him.
 
Gary Duane

Gary Duane

Talk Tennis Guru
Red Rick said:
My bad. I had multiple tabs open, I mixed subforums up
Click to expand...
Gotcha...

I hate getting scores before I watch, but I should not have clicked on any topic about Diego. Partially my fault.

Turns out that they didn't even show the first set. It was all about Tiafoe, which I guess is understandable. Americans are desperate for someone young who is winning. But the Schwartzman match was a much better match, the second set. If this kid had a stronger serve (probably impossible at his height) he'd be a candidate for slams. ;)
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
Gary Duane said:
Gotcha...

I hate getting scores before I watch, but I should not have clicked on any topic about Diego. Partially my fault.

Turns out that they didn't even show the first set. It was all about Tiafoe, which I guess is understandable. Americans are desperate for someone young who is winning. But the Schwartzman match was a much better match, the second set. If this kid had a stronger serve (probably impossible at his height) he'd be a candidate for slams. ;)
Click to expand...
No worries mate.

Yeah, Diego definitely could use a better serve. His return game is right up there with the best, probably directly behind Djokovic and Murray on HC. Obviously his height limits the ceiling of that serve (pun intended) but it could be better technically, and I think he's been working hard on it. The pace on his first has been increasing and I occasionally see him hit the high 180s and low 190s which is a decent enough speed for his size. I honestly think that about 185 ish is where you're gonna get back a lot more serves no matter how accurate you hit it.
 
stringertom

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Itty Bitty Dark Helmet Diego will indeed cast a large shadow if he can don El Sombrero Grande this Saturday.

He has now proven twice that San Diego tennis is far superior to San Fernando tennis. Of course, anyone familiar with California tennis circles would have known this by watching this short example of what San Diego tennis has to offer:

 
BeatlesFan

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
How did Diego lose to Ryan Harrison, of all people? Really disappointed to see that result. Almost shocking.
 
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