Moya: Nadal learned from Rome defeat to Schwartzman
Jewish-Argentine takes on the King of Clay in French Open semis with first Grand Slam title within reach
By MARTYN HERMANDIEGO SCHWARTZMAN (right) and Spaniard Rafael Nadal meet at the net after the Jewish-Argentine won their quarterfinal match last month in Rome. The two face off today in the French Open semifinals(photo credit: REUTERS)
PARIS – Rafael Nadal will be a tougher proposition for Diego Schwartzman than he was in Rome last month when they meet in the French Open semifinals on Friday, says Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya.Twelve-time French Open champion Nadal was surprisingly beaten 6-2, 7-5 by the Jewish-Argentine in the Rome quarterfinals – Schwartzman’s first win over the Spaniard in 10 meetings.That was Nadal’s first tournament in seven months, however, and he has progressed to the semifinals at Roland Garros without dropping a set, although he was pushed hard in the early stages of his match against Jannick Sinner on Tuesday.Schwartzman is through to his first Grand Slam semifinal after a five-hour victory over US Open winner Dominic Thiem.“The match in Rome was very strange because Rafa won two very good matches against powerful opponents,” said Moya.“Against Schwartzman it was the first time that he had problems in the score and he did not manage it totally well on a physical or mental level.“We learned from that moment and now he is at a great level with many more games played. It will be a tough mental battle and I think we have some weapons that will allow Rafa to compete with guarantees.”Nadal will be the overwhelming favorite to avenge that Rome loss, although Moya says Schwartzman will provide a tough challenge and will not be affected by his attritional battle with Thiem.“It will be a very difficult duel as we saw in Rome. Diego’s match against Thiem yesterday was incredible and I think even Diego could have won more easily,” Moya said. “Diego is an incredible player and we don’t think that the physical factor is going to influence too much.”Nadal has only lost two matches at Roland Garros out of the 100 he has played.Djokovic fights through pain to reach semis.Meanwhile, top-seeded Novak Djokovic fought through health issues late Wednesday and recovered from a challenging first set to knock off Pablo Carreno Busta and reach the semifinals in Paris.Djokovic needed three hours and 10 minutes to finish off a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 victory over the 17th-seeded Carreno Busta to qualify for his 10th career semifinal at Roland Garros.The 2016 French Open champion recorded 53 winners against 41 unforced errors in the win. He will face fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals after the Greek defeated 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.Djokovic was visibly hampered in the opening set as his upper left arm and neck repeatedly bothered him. A trainer worked on him after the first set and again after the third game of the second set. Eventually the areas loosened up.“I definitely didn’t feel great coming into the court today. A few things happened in the warmup,” Djokovic said. “I had some neck issues and some shoulder issues, I’ll just say that. I mean, I don’t want to get really too much into it.“Obviously I’m still in the tournament, so I don’t want to reveal too much. I’m feeling OK. As the match progressed, I warmed up my body, and the pain kind of faded away. It allowed me to play better and better and feel better.”Meanwhile, there wasn’t much drama as the 22-year-old Tsitsipas rolled to a win over Rublev to reach his first French Open semifinal.Tsitsipas notched 35 winners against 17 unforced errors in the victory. He was pushed by the Russian in the first set before sailing through the final two.“I felt comfortable playing on this court and despite getting off to a bad start and being a break down, I remembered what a big fighter I am,” Tsitsipas said. “It’s also about finding solutions in difficult moments and I managed to put my brain to work.”
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