After five-and-a-half hours on court Saturday, Diego Schwartzman is through to his second ATP Tour final in as many weeks. The Argentine backed up a marathon win over Pablo Andujar in the afternoon with a two-hour win over countryman Francisco Cerundolo in the evening to reach the championship match at the Rio Open presented by Claro.
Friday rain meant double duty on Saturday on a hectic day in Rio.
Schwartzman’s semi-final could have gone even longer, but the third seed saved three set points in the opening stanza to pave the way for a much-needed straight-set win. He can look forward to a good night’s sleep after a 7-6(4), 6-3 win over Cerundolo on Quadra Guga Kuerten.
“Unbelievable. The effort I did today with my team, not just me. Also Francisco, both of us, and now Fognini and Alcaraz,” Schwartzman reflected.
“Yesterday we were here all day long. We went to the hotel at 10 p.m. yesterday, coming back in the morning today to play one match, now the other one. I don’t know how I did it, I really don’t understand how I did it, but I did. So I’m very happy and of course playing with this crowd in Brazil, for an Argentinian player it’s unbelievable.”
Down an early break, Schwartzman saved five break points to stay within touching distance at 4-3 in the first. He saved a first set point on serve to get to 5-4, then saved two more on the return to level the set and ultimately force a tie-break.
“I think he had too many chances at the beginning of the match to win the first set,” Schwartzman said post-match. “I think the first set, for both of us, it was very important.
“At the end [of the set], I was just trying to think, ‘Hey, he didn’t play a final at an ATP 500 tournament, so maybe the nerves are there'… I took the chance. We are here to take the chances, and I did great today.”
After winning the last three points of the tie-break, he carried that momentum into set two, taking an early lead. Cerundolo won consecutive love games to turn 3-1 to 3-3, but Schwartzman again raised his level late as he finished the match with his third and fourth breaks of the evening.
WHAT AN EFFORT 🙌
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 20, 2022
5.5 hours on court today and @dieschwartzman takes out Cerundolo 7-6 6-3 to reach the finals in Rio! pic.twitter.com/uXeNuOvtLZ
He awaits the winner of the second semi-final between seventh seed Carlos Alcaraz and Fabio Fognini. Against either man, the Argentine expects a “crazy final” against an in-form opponent who will mix aggressive play with “tricky shots, drop shots.”
“I’m in a good position right now,” Schwartzman said. “I already played, I’m in the final, so let’s see who wins, and I’ll try to do my best tomorrow.”
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