“Nobody handed me a spot here, I earned it” Diego Schwartzman aims to assert dominance after loss against Novak Djokovic

Diego Schwartzman has reaped in a lieu of impressive results this past year. The World No. 9 advanced to the semi-final of a Grand Slam at this year’s Roland Garros for the first time in his career. Further, he cracked the TOP-10 ranking and booked himself a spot at the coveted Nitto ATP Finals.

However, the Argentine lost his debut match against the World No.1 Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2 yesterday. This one-sided scoreline does not indicate the amount of effort Schwartzman put in the battle. 

Diego failed to solidify the lead he has garnered over Djokovic in the first set. The 28-year-old seemed to lose his footing after getting a break. This allowed Nole to crack the battle wide open and win 11 of the next 14 games. 

In his post-match conference, Schwartzman acknowledged that score seemed “misleading.” He seemed unable to comprehend the straight-sets loss after initially having his adversary on the run. 

However, the Argentine eventually came around to accepting the loss. He stated that Novak “outplayed” him and he “felt far behind” in the match through its entirety. 

“Nobody handed me a spot here. I earned it tournament by tournament,” he added, reflecting on his utter determination and toil through the season.

Not looking to squander this opportunity Diego added that while he was enjoying the experience, he is also “training really hard.” 

Inspite of this defeat, Schwartzman is looking to redeem himself in the upcoming battles against Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev.