Diego Schwartzman had never beaten Dutchman Robin Haase before. Entering his first-round match at the 2019 US Open, the 5-foot-7 Argentine was 0-5 in head-to-heads. Yet Schwartzman showed no scars from the previous defeats and dominted Haase in straight sets. And thus began one of his best Grand Slam runs to date.
Schwartzman will try to do the same on Wednesday against Rafael Nadal: Forget about his defeat record against the Spaniard and make it into his first Grand Slam semifinal.
Easier typed than done. Haase, a two-time titlist who has earned more than $7 million in career prize money, is no Nadal, the world No. 2 who has won 83 titles, including three US Opens, and earned more than $111 million in prize money.
The Spaniard has beaten Schwartzman all seven times they've played, including a straight-set win in the third round of the 2015 US Open. Schwartzman has won only two sets (2-17 in sets) against Nadal, but both came at Grand Slams–the 2018 Australian Open on hard courts and the 2018 French Open on clay.
Schwartzman's plan is simple. “Hit very hard to the lines,” he said. “I need to be focused... I need to study my games against him. I have many good games, very good matches against him. I had my chances against him many matches, but I [wasn't] able to win opportunities against him. You never know when the next opportunities are going to come. Maybe it's the next match against him. I need to be ready.”
Nadal, never one to take an opponent likely, will be wary of Schwartzman, who's into his third Grand Slam quarterfinal and second in Queens. The Argentine, who beat Alexander Zverev to return to the last eight, was the only player to win a set off Nadal at the 2018 French Open, before Nadal won his 11th Paris title and 17th Grand Slam.
“He has everything, amazing control, amazing speed,” Nadal said. “He has the ability to read very well your shots and to understand very well the game. [It] is not a surprise he is there.”
Schwartzman pushed Nadal in Paris by playing at his aggressive best, aiming for lines and charging the net. If he can execute a similar start and get the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd behind him, the underdog Schwartzman could enjoy his best match yet against Nadal.
And that just might mean the end of his streak of defeats at the Open.
