Dominic Thiem spoke highly of Diego Schwartzman after suffering a five-set defeat in their thrilling French Open 2020 quarter-final.
The Argentine 12th seed saw off the Danish tennis sensation in a five-hour epic with a 7-6 (7/1), 5-7, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win to reach his first ever Grand Slam semi-final.
It was one marathon too many for Thiem, the runner-up in Paris for the last two years, who had needed five sets and three and a half hours to down world number 239 Hugo Gaston in the fourth round.
“I was over the limit today,” the US Open champion said. “At the net I just told him that he deserves it. I think he’s for the first time top 10 with that win. That’s also great achievement.”
The Argentine will now face defending champion Rafael Nadal who triumphed over Jannik Sinner 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-1 under “dangerous conditions” to reach the last-four stage for the 13th time in his illustrious career.
However, Nadal, more accustomed to the bright sunshine of Mallorca than the autumn chill of a French Open pushed back four months due to the coronavirus pandemic, was unhappy with organisers who scheduled five matches on the main Court Philippe Chatrier.
“I know footballers play under these conditions, but they are all the time moving,” said Nadal after the latest ever finishing match at the tournament. “We stop, we come back, we stop on the changeovers. I think this is a little bit dangerous for the body with these very heavy conditions.”
On the other hand, Schwartzman’s compatriot Nadia Podoroska booked her place in the semi-finals with a stunning 6-2, 6-4 win over third seed Elina Svitolina.
“My dream is to be number one. That will never change,” said Podoroska, whose only other Grand Slam appearance came at the 2016 US Open.
She is just the third female qualifier to make the last four of a major, after Alexandra Stevenson at Wimbledon in 1999 and Christine Dorey at the 1978 Australian Open.
“I don’t want to wake up,” added Podoroska, the first Argentine woman to reach a major semi-final since Paola Suarez in Paris in 2004. “For me it’s very special because in all South America we don’t have too many tournaments. It’s very complicated for all the South American girls playing tennis. I think it’s good that I’m having these results. Maybe it’s going to help all the young girls.”
The Argentine will take on Poland’s Iga Swiatek made it into her first Grand Slam semi-final when she beat Italy’s Martina Trevisan in straight sets at Roland Garros.
“I did a really good job,” a delighted Swiatek said after her win on the central court. “I used the wind really well. There were lots of errors due to the wind but I played smart,” she said.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/3dhyQjD
No comments:
Post a Comment