French Open: Schwartzman wants to focus on own game and not on Nadal

Diego Schwartzman who reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals on Monday is trying his best to not think about Rafael Nadal and the challenge he will face against the Spaniard.

“I think at the beginning of every match against Rafa, you have to walk on the court thinking [about] winning the match, to have opportunities, to get opportunities,” ATP quoted Schwartzman as saying.

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The Argentine recognises that it will take a very high level of tennis from him just to have a chance on Parisian clay. Nadal leads the ATP Head2Head series against Schwartzman by 10-1.

“If you think about the four, five hours you are going to play, if you think about everything about Rafa in Roland Garros, he’s very difficult to play,” Schwartzman said. “You have to go on court, think about the tactics, think about how to play your best game.”

The 10th seed recognises the importance of having a good start against Nadal at the French Open. He believes players who start well against Nadal can then better focus on the task at hand if they come out firing.

“I think it’s very important not just for me, but also for Rafa when the opponent starts with good tennis, the match is going to [go] a different way,” Schwartzman said. “It’s always tough. But at the end it’s Rafa and you never know what is going to happen, and everyone knows that it’s going to be very difficult.”

This quarter-final clash will be the repeat of last year’s Roland Garros semi-finals where Schwartzman lost against the Spaniard in straight sets. No matter what happens when they clash on Wednesday, the 28-year-old is excited about the opportunity.

“Playing against Rafa in these kinds of tournaments, it’s always a good time to know how good are you playing. It’s always a good challenge,” Schwartzman said. “I know we played two times here [and they] were good matches, and now let’s see what happens. I have to enjoy today, a day [off] tomorrow, and let’s see what happen on Wednesday.”