NEW YORK – Diego Schwartzman experienced an unexpected surprise. He played his last Grand Slam match in a stadium as legendary as the US Open Grandstand and received an honor from the organizers.
Now the Argentine is looking to the future. “I want to help tennis in Latin America by organizing tournaments,” he confessed in this interview with Diego Schwartzman CLAY that took place in the Wimbledon qualifying, after a very different defeat from the one in New York. He left London without honors or large crowds; in Queens he did so with the affection of a full stadium, the recognition of his rival Gael Monfils and gifts from the USTA.
In this interview, he spoke about the new stage in his life and how he wants to help tennis in his region regain the ground it has lost on the world stage in recent years. “We are working to have a tournament the week that the ATP was held in Cordoba. It will not be a 250, but we hope to have a good event again,” said Diego Schwartzman in this interview, who will play his last professional tournament in Buenos Aires in February.
Interview with Diego Schwartzman
– It’s over…
– Unfortunately, that tank is empty. In tennis, you have to be very patient and consistent to do well. You have to stick to the routine very strongly and that was not the case for me. So it doesn’t make much sense for me to stay because I have always been a tennis player who loved tennis. I love what I do, but if I could do it well and with the intensity needed. And that with 50% machine load… I really prefer to stay at home and enjoy it there.
– How has it been since you announced your resignation?
– There were a lot of emotions, yes, but at the same time it feels very good, I’m happy, I’m enjoying being at home a bit more now, I’ve also started to look back a bit and look at the successes I’ve had in my career. I’ve also been able to make decisions on my own, understand my body, understand my head and know that for a while I was exhausted and that I couldn’t maintain what I had always done very well. I preferred to take some time off, continue playing some tournaments that I like, but already prepare for the future.
– A lot has happened in your life. You proposed to your girlfriend and are getting married next year.
– I’m very happy because it’s also a new stage. I think that little by little I complete stages and start new ones and that’s part of life. The truth is that the way I’ve trained and prepared all these years has been very radical. I stopped doing a lot of things that I could have done that certainly wouldn’t have led me to what I am in tennis, to the things I’ve been able to achieve with my own goals and those of my team. So the truth is that over time that has given me a lot and today I want to start enjoying other things and I know that if I enjoyed them I wouldn’t be able to maintain what I was doing on the court, so I don’t see much point in that.
– Do you want to have children?
– Yes, but a little later. Yes, yes, we have plans to take it step by step, to enjoy it together, to go down a path together with Euge and to expand the family, but there is still a long way to go. As you said, there are many things together and now we have to let time pass.
– What were the most extraordinary moments of your career?
– I had several moments, I had a lot of regularity in different years. When I look back, there were many moments where I felt great, confident and fun. 2020 was very special because it was a mix of very strange situations. On the one hand, we were in the middle of a pandemic, and I will never forget that I couldn’t stop winning games. Those year and a half still exhausted me in the end, it was very tiring.
– Were there any reactions to the announcement of your resignation that surprised you?
– Many people ask me if I’m retiring because of an injury, even though I’ve never been injured. I answer them that it was my psyche that was injured. I’ve had a lot of fun, everything I’ve achieved has been much more than I imagined, tennis has given me much more than I expected and on this side the players know that too, they understand it. Those close to me and those who are a little further away and have seen me know that it could have caused all that exhaustion and that it’s a wise decision. I think there are also many who in the end don’t have the courage to take that final step where they felt something and I always wanted it to be my decision in the end.
– You are one of those who have raised your voice against the ATP’s decisions that are damaging to South America. Have you received any feedback?
– Yes, actually we are slowly trying to see if we can have a tournament the week that the ATP of Cordoba is held. The idea is to have a good tournament that week. It will not be an ATP 250, but we hope there will be a good event before Buenos Aires. Hopefully that can happen and during the year I would like to help tennis in the region by organizing professional tournaments of all kinds. I think that giving opportunities to players is obvious. For example, when you come from an Argentine like Horacio de la Peña, it pays off and today we see many players who have entered the top 100 and are playing in the best tournaments because they played in several tournaments in the region a few years ago in the tour organized by Horacio.
– It looks pretty uphill.
– It’s difficult, especially now, given the economic situation our countries are living in, it’s difficult to generate that money. But I think if the ATP makes an effort to understand the situation in the region and also understand the number of players in Chile, Peru, Argentina and all the neighboring countries, Brazil? It’s a strong region! So I think we can find a way for some private funds together with the ATP to start organizing tournaments and hopefully tomorrow, starting next year, I can be part of it and help create such opportunities for the players. I would love to be part of it, I want to contribute to organizing tournaments. They have always helped me so it would be great if I could help a little.
