Diego Schwartzman outlasts Dominic Thiem in five-set classic at French Open
Dominic Thiem’s bid for French Open glory came to an end after an epic five-setter against Diego Schwartzman as No 2 seed Rafael Nadal breezed past Jannik Sinner under the floodlights at Roland Garros.
Austrian Thiem, who won the US Open just 23 days ago, finally wilted in the deciding set in a match of extraordinary quality.
After more than five hours of gripping drama, Schwartzman felt 10ft tall as he wrapped up a 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory.
Schwartzman said: “Dominic is one of the best players right now in the world.
“He won the last Grand Slam, he is a two-time finalist here, and I have a lot of respect for him.
“That’s why this match is very important for me. I played a few five-setters here and I never won. I think at the end this night I deserved to win.”
In the late match on Court Philippe Chatrier, which finished at 12.25am on Wednesday morning, second seed Nadal eclipsed Jannik Sinner in three sets 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-1.
The 19-year-old Italian, reigning Next Gen ATP finals champion, had already beat two top-15 ranked players on his way to a first Grand Slam quarter-final.
Sinner, currently ranked 75 in the world, pushed Nadal in the opening set, breaking to lead 6-5 before the Spaniard – chasing a 13th Roland Garros crown and what would be a record-equalling 20 Grand Slam trophies – recovered to force the tie-break, which he took 7/4.
1️⃣9️⃣
👉 Jannik Sinner’s Age
👉 Number of Nadal’s Grand Slam titles
👉 Nadal’s age when he first he won #RolandGarros— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 6, 2020
The Italian bounced back in the second to race out to a 3-1 lead, however Nadal relied on his veteran experience to clamber his way back and take the set before running away with it in the third.
The result sets up a mouth-watering semi-final matchup between Nadal and Schwartzman.
Earlier, in the men’s doubles, British duo Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski missed out on a place in the semi-finals.
The 13th seeds were beaten 6-4, 6-4 by German pair Andreas Mies and Kevin Krawietz, the defending champions.
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