Schwartzman, after his retirement: "I want to help the players in any way I can"

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Diego Schwartzman is now enjoying life as a former professional tennis player. The Argentine hung up his racket last February at the Buenos Aires ATP after a successful career, where he reached number 8 in the rankings and made it to the semifinals of the 2020 Roland Garros, as well as winning four titles. Known as 'the little one' due to his short stature, he was an expert on clay courts, where he was a real headache for opponents, but he also improved his game on hard courts over the years. Now, from the perspective of a retired player, he talked about his career, his beginnings, his best years, his new life, and his new goals, all of which will be linked to tennis. He discussed all these topics in an interview with Tennis Channel.

Beginnings in Argentina

"When I started playing, my first coach was the father of the Cerúndolo brothers. He is famous in Argentina for having a great academy, and many of us started with him. But as I grew up, I began to admire Nalbandian, Coria, Gaudio, Chela. That was a great time for Argentine tennis players, and it was very easy to start playing tennis at that time."

Despite his stature, he could compete with the best

"To be honest, I have no idea how I beat them. I did many things off the court like eating well, sleeping well, in addition to training. And in the end, this helped me a lot, and then you realize that you did a great job when you see that you don't make mistakes and you run after every ball."

His new life off the courts

"Now I am playing soccer with a club of my friends, and next Wednesday I will have my first match. But it is the first time since I was 16 that I have had an extended vacation because when the season ended, you focused on the next year's preseason and then left for Australia."

The turning point in his career

"In 2017, when I reached the Top 25, after reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open, I started to be seeded in tournaments, and that was a big change for me. From that year until 2023, I was inside the top 20."

A regular in the second weeks of Grand Slams

"If you had asked me 15 years ago, I would have said it was impossible to be among the top eight in the world or reach the semifinals of Roland Garros, but then, during my career, I realized that I was ready for those challenges. I was fortunate enough to reach the second week of the Grand Slam for many years, even without losing a set in the first week, I did it four times. The confidence was there, and I felt I was prepared to achieve it."

Dealing with the Big 3

"Now the round of 16 or quarterfinals of a Grand Slam are not the same as when Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic were around. I lost six or seven times against Nadal or Djokovic in the second week of a major. Maybe I could have done it, but I am very happy with what I have achieved."

About that match at Roland Garros 2018, where he had Nadal on the ropes... until the rain came

"I was very upset when the rain came because I was leading 6-4, 3-1 against Nadal in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. And after the rain, I only won four games. Many things happened. We resumed playing 25 minutes after it stopped raining, and then it rained again, and we did not play again until the next day. It was sunny and the conditions were perfect for Rafa, and he was a different player compared to the day before; he was a beast. It was very different, but he struggled because he was not playing well, and I was playing my best tennis."

His next challenge is back on the tour

"I have always been a very political player, always focusing on the players' conditions. It is a tough time right now with all the things happening off the court. I want to help the players in any way I can. Tennis is growing, but there are many things to improve in the coming years."

The difficulty of playing on hard courts for a clay court player

"You have to do things differently all the time and not think too much because the surface does not give you the opportunity to think. It's not easy because if you are a clay player and you don't have time to decide, it's very tough. You also have to block returns, come to the net more. But it is in these circumstances that I grew the most, when I was playing on hard courts as a clay-court player."

His feelings in his last tournament

"It was tough. I tried in the weeks before the tournament, training and going to the gym because I wanted to be prepared. And I beat Jarry in the first round; it was incredible because I was very afraid as I thought he would beat me 6-1, 6-1. But I started to feel that I was playing well and had opportunities. The atmosphere was amazing. The second match was very different because mentally I was not very focused. But I am grateful for the opportunity the tournament gave me because I invited myself. Eight months earlier, I had already announced I was going to retire in Buenos Aires," says Schwartzman, who after a great tennis career, wants to help players have better conditions.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Schwartzman, tras su retirada: "Quiero ayudar a los jugadores en todo lo que pueda"