Diego Schwartzman earned a first career Grand Slam semi-final berth. (AP/Twitter)Diego Schwartzman came back to beat U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem in five sets across more than five hours at the French Open to reach the first Grand Slam semifinal of his career.
Schwartzman was two points from defeat on three occasions in the fourth set but eventually pulled out the 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory by taking the last four games.
The 12th-seeded Schwartzman had been 0-3 in major quarterfinals until this one against No. 3 Thiem, who was trying to reach the final four at Roland Garros for the fifth consecutive year.
One of the key rallies of this match causes an argument over if Dominic Thiemβs π¦πΉ shot was in. Diego Schwartzman certainly thinks not, but what do you guys think? Let me know in the comments π pic.twitter.com/8tSeGR1A51
β STPro (@STPro15) October 6, 2020
Schwartzman could have ended things much sooner Tuesday night. He was two points from taking the second set, then one point from grabbing the third. But Thiem kept fighting back and eventually was two points from winning at 6-5 in the fourth set and again in that tiebreaker.
Schwartzman broke to go up 4-2 in the fifth when Thiem netted a backhand, and again to end it, when Thiem put two drop shots into the net.
Friendship never dies @dieschwartzman + @ThiemDomi#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/QiB3VhB2GQ
β Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 6, 2020
Schwartzman next will face 12-time champion Rafael Nadal or 19-year-old Jannik Sinner of Italy. Their quarterfinal was scheduled for later Tuesday.
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