WHAT HAPPENED: Doesn't Diego Schwartzman know the rules? The second week of Grand Slams are where favorites reign and underdogs lose. Then again, the 5-foot-7 Argentine has spent a career ignoring conventional wisdom, so why stop now?
The 29th seed won another match he was supposed to lose on Sunday at the US Open, feeding off a packed Grandstand crowd and overcoming injury to beat 16th seed Lucas Pouille 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 and reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
"I think I played my best match today because I did everything good... Lucas is an aggressive player and I did many winners and I did many times to the net," said Schwartzman, who finished with 44 winners and won 62 percent of his net points (21/34). "I just enjoy the moment."
Before this fortnight, Schwartzman had never advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam. His best performance in New York had been a second-round run two years ago, when he lost to Rafael Nadal.
But the Argentine has been playing his best tennis this season, and he's brought his fan-friendly game to Queens, much to the delight of his fans, who have been clad in powder blue and white Argentinian fùtbol jerseys and have serenaded their star with chants of "Ole, ole, ole, ole. Di-ego, Di-ego!"
Pouille, though, had been here before and had come up big under the bright lights of New York. In the fourth round last year, the Frenchman upset fifth seed and two-time champion Nadal in a fifth-set tiebreaker to reach his first US Open quarterfinal.
He started quickly against Schwartzman, breaking in the fourth game to lead 3-1. But Schwartzman has to expect to lose some service games. No player on the ATP World Tour drops his serve more often than the Argentine, who, at 5-foot-7, has to rely on placement and spin more than power and pace. But Schwartzman compensates for his meager serve with one of the best return games in the world.
Only 2012 US Open champion Andy Murray has broken more during the past 52 weeks than Schwartzman, who has won 35 percent of his return games. He struck back immediately against Pouille and stayed the aggressor in the first-set tiebreaker, winning his four final points with winners.
Pouille mixed it up in the second set, slicing drop shots to force Schwartzman away from the baseline. The Frenchman broke twice but couldn't maintain the lead and was broken for a third time while serving to stay in the set at 5-6. On set point, Pouille served and volleyed for the first time in the set and Schwartzman ripped a forehand past him.
But injury struck Schwartzman in the third, and he received a medical timeout at 5-2. After a trainer heavily wrapped his right thigh to start the fourth, his victory looked in doubt. He shook his head at his box. But Schwartzman fought on and Pouille faded, hitting only four winners and 12 unforced errors in the fourth set, including a double fault on match point.
"Start to feel some pain in my right leg. Then was tough because I was just thinking about that. Never happen to me, something in the leg. Just a few times in my career. Was tough to be focus again of the match," Schwartzman said. "I think he have the chance in the fourth when he was a break up again. Then he start maybe to be a little bit nervous, more than me. I was just thinking in my leg. I think that helped... to be more aggressive on the match and try to win every point."
WHAT IT MEANS: The best stretch of Schwartzman's career keeps going at the season's final Grand Slam. Schwartzman, who is at a career-high No. 33, now has a chance to add a new label to the best season of his career: Grand Slam semifinalist. Schwartzman will meet Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Both players will be attempting to reach their first major semifinal.
"He's my friend outside the court. We have a good relationship in the locker rooms, and we have a lot of things outside the tennis life," Schwartzman said. "It's going to be really nice for both of us to play in the quarterfinals here in a Grand Slam."
The Buenos Aires native also continues to shatter the myth that he's a clay-court counterpuncher. The 5-foot-7 right-hander attacked the net more often and hit more winners than the 6-foot-1 Pouille, who reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time this season in New York.
MATCH POINT: With 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov out of the US Open, will the underdog Schwartzman become the new fan favorite?
