BUENOS AIRES
– Diego Schwartzman woke up on Wednesday 12th February 2025 and one of the first things he did was order some pills for his stomach pain from a delivery service. The idea that he was starting the last day of his tennis career was twisting his insides. But the guts are sometimes wrong, because the Argentinean earned himself at least one more day in the office.
With a 7-6 (12-10), 4-6 and 6-3 win over Chile’s Nicolás Jarry, Schwartzman, former world number eight, will face Spain’s Pedro Martínez on Thursday, something completely unexpected, because the Argentinean was already something very similar to an ex-tennis player.
‘The truth is that it’s incredible,’ said Schwartzman, 386th in the world rankings, with a lump in his throat and shining eyes. He was speaking in the middle of the orange clay of the centre court of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club (BALTC), the most important venue for Argentine tennis, packed on a Wednesday afternoon that was a party in Argentina.
‘To be honest, I don’t know when I generated all this. It’s as simple as the hackneyed phrase that I don’t have enough words to express what I feel’.
Schwartzman had not won a match on the ATP main circuit since Tokyo 2023, a victory over his compatriot Francisco Cerúndolo: 484 days without a win. He had made the decision to play in the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, the last professional tournament of his life, but victory over the world number 40 was not in his calculations. This Thursday, in the night session, he has a new chapter in his ‘last dance’.
Jarry was overcome by the euphoric atmosphere, more football- than tennis-like, of a stadium turned out in favour of its player. And Schwartzman forgot his nerves, let his game flow and enjoyed an unexpected victory. So much so that, once the match was over, it was impossible to wipe the smile off his face.
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‘My Davis Cup teammates supporting me, the stadium full…. I haven’t retired yet, I have a little while left on the court. I hope I can put on a show that’s up to par. To everyone here, I want to say that what I’m receiving is incredible.’
Schwartzman admits that he had a much better career than he expected. A finalist in 14 tournaments and winner of four, he was a semi-finalist at Roland Garros 2020, the year in which he played in the season-ending Masters. For several years he was also the highest-ranked Jewish tennis player.
Hopefully his stomach won’t rebel again this Thursday.
‘Last night I couldn’t stand the pain in my stomach, I couldn’t stand the nerves. Before, I would run for four or five hours and nothing would happen to me and now I couldn’t take it anymore. It’s the farewell I dreamed of in a career that went much better than I expected.’
