World News – GB – Diego Schwartzman overthrows Dominic Thiem in the epic of Roland-Garros

By the time Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman had stopped monopolizing the Philippe Chatrier court, night had fallen on Paris but two matches remained to be played For the 750 fans present, it doesn’t matter They were the proud witnesses of a five-hour psychodrama as Schwartzman eventually recovered to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final with a 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5 ), 6-2 victory against the US Open champion in 5h 8min

Schwartzman arrived on Chatrier too aware of the opportunity at hand Although his momentum has only grown since he defeated Rafael Nadal in Rome en route to his first Masters 1000 final, it has since been clear a while that the effort it took for Thiem to win his first Grand Slam title last month would eventually catch up him

But even with his tank nearly empty, the Austrian’s spirit was majestic In a match filled with nerves and endless exchanges, Thiem so often looked dead on his feet before coming back to life Schwartzman was leading 5-4 and 15-30 on Thiem’s ​​serve in the second set before one of the worst misses of his career, then failed to convert 5-3 lead in the third and fourth sets As he felt the odds slip away, he raged at his team

“In the second and third set I was crazy,” he later said laughing, “I don’t know what people think of me at that point but I was crazy, screaming, talking to my coach My coach was like, « OK, play tennis, nothing else » I was so nervous because I saw the chance today and I didn’t grab it in second and third « 

Schwartzman may not have seized his opportunities, but what defines him is the courage he has had to constantly pursue another Two points from the 5-5 tie-break loss. fourth set, Schwartzman landed a forehand over the baseline and delicately placed a drop-volley winner He took the tie-break and ultimately the match

“We’re friends,” said Schwartzman “I have a lot of respect for him and that’s why this match is very, very important for me Not just to play a good match, to win after five hours at Philippe Chatrier , first time I played five sets here a few times and I never win I think in the end tonight I deserve to win Come on « 

It concluded one of the big nights for Argentine tennis in years after world No.131 Nadia Podoroska shocked No.3 seed Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 to reach the midfielders -finals in her debut She will face Iga Swiatek of Poland for a place in the final, marking just the second time since 1983 that two unranked players will face off in a Grand Slam semi-final

It was already a Roland Garros for the little one, a two-week affirmation of the quality of the competition far from the top of the men’s and women’s tours

In Podoroska’s case, her success is the simple consequence of having gotten into the habit of winning, no matter where those wins happened. After languishing outside the top 300 last year, she compiled this year a record 43-6 wins-losses from tournaments with just $ 25,000 in prize money, and now with wins at the sport’s elite level

The 23-year-old later provided sobering context for her success as she looked back to 2017, when she was unsure whether she would be able to continue her tennis career: “I had too many injuries, ”she said “I gave up my ranking I had been like eight months out of the Tour Then I had no money to start playing tournaments It was a very difficult time for me because I also changed everything my team… I was kind of like, I didn’t know what to do « 

After winning a total of £ 232,604 in cash prizes over his career, Podoroska has earned £ 386,862 for three weeks of work Reaching a Roland Garros semi-final is a personal dream and as the first Argentine woman since Paola Suárez in 2004 to do so and in a country still nostalgic for the days of Gabriela Sabatini, she brings hope for a revival. South American women’s tennis

However, lower ranked players have other priorities Most importantly, this will allow him to afford to have his career in the best possible conditions for the foreseeable future

Dominic Thiem, Diego Schwartzman, Roland-Garros, Rafael Nadal, Tennis