20.09.2020
07:08
The Peque struck in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Italy and in the semifinals he will face the Canadian who seeks to access the Top Ten of the international ranking
September 20, 2020 Share on FacebookShare Share on TwitterTweet Share on WhatsAppShare
Rafael Nadal struck the blow by eliminating Rafa Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Rome. Photo: REUTERS / Clive Brunskill
It was a historic and unforgettable match. But the continuity of the tournament forces it to be part of the past. After eliminating Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Rome , Diego Schwartzman will seek to take another blow in the Italian tournament against Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the duel that will define the finalist.
From 2:00 p.m. (Argentine time), the porteño who occupies the fifteenth position in the ATP ranking will be measured on the central court of the Italian capital against Shapovalov , in a match that will be broadcast live on the ESPN sports signal.
The Peque , eighth seeded in the Roman competition, gave the surprise in the quarterfinals by beating the legendary Spanish tennis player 6-2 and 7-5 , which meant his first victory in ten matches against the Mallorcan , who with the elimination will not be able to defend the crown won in 2019.
In the last games, all in the past season, Nadal (nine-time champion of the Rome tournament) had beaten Schwartzman in the Davis Cup, the US Open and Indian Wells.
“ I played the best tennis of my life. I had played against him nine times and four or five times I felt I had a chance, but it hadn’t happened. Today I am happy, “said the Argentine just after the victory at the Foro Italico . And he added: ” Rafa was returning after seven months without competition and although I did not come in good weeks I had an opportunity and I was able to take advantage of it .”
Regarding his next rival, twelfth favorite, who comes from eliminating the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (15) by 6-2, 3-6 and 6-2 , Peque warned that ” Shapovalov is doing well, really at a great level .” “We play and practice in the Bahamas , he’s a good boy. I congratulate him on the semi-finals in this tournament, he is very close to becoming a Top Ten . If I play like today (in reference to the match with Rafa), I have a chance to beat him and go to the final ”, considered Schwartzman .
The remaining semifinal will be played by the number one in the ATP world rankings, Serbian Novak Djokovic (four times champion in Rome), and Norwegian Casper Ruud.
In their quarterfinal commitments, Nole beat German Dominik Koepfer 6-3, 4-6 and 6-3 and Ruud did the same against Italian Matteo Berrettini, whom he beat 4-6, 6-3 and 7-6.
The Roman competition, one of the main ones on brick dust and with 3,465,045 euros in prizes, is the prelude to Roland Garros , the second Grand Slam of the season, which will begin in eight days after being postponed in May due to the pandemic of coronavirus.
