Diego Schwartzman has called world No. 1 Jannik Sinner “scary” and named him the most intimidating player he has ever faced.
The former world No. 8 called a trait shared by Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz “crazy,” while referring to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer as “gods
.”In his four encounters with Sinner, Schwartzman has lost each time without taking a set. The Argentine lost to the Italian three times in 2023 after losing 6-2, 6-2 on their first meeting in the 2021 Antwerp final.
The 32-year-old has a 0–7 record versus Djokovic and a 0–4 record against Federer, and he has won one of his 12 meetings with Nadal.
In May, Schwartzman declared his intention to retire from tennis following the 2025 Argentina Open.When asked to select the most terrifying player on tour, Schwartzman chose Sinner in an episode of the Nothing Major podcast.
“We ought to pick one of the freshmen. Sinner, I believe. I performed him several times. He wasn’t yet in the top ten. “Come on, what is this guy?” I was saying. Power, movement, sliding, everything. “It’s frightening,” the Argentine remarked.
We played against Novak, Roger, and Rafa, which makes it insane. These men are divine. However, Sinner and Alcaraz’s actions with their bodies are insane.
Schwartzman discussed Nadal’s distinct mindset earlier this year and compared the legendary Spaniard’s strategy to that of Djokovic and Federer.
“Rafa is the one who, in my opinion, commands the greatest respect when you enter the court out of the three. The four-time ATP champion told ESPN, “It’s like you come into the court a little more defeated.”
Regarding the others, Federer, who is so laid back, occasionally provides you options to enter the match if you catch Djokovic upset one day or if he clutches a few balls and exhibits moments of irritation.
Nevertheless, it feels like the conclusion of Rafael Nadal’s career from the first time you play with him until the very end. It’s challenging. You respect him so highly that you occasionally ask yourself, “How do I do it?”And he manages that flawlessly, since he continues to win while taking less strokes than Federer or Djokovic.
Maintaining what he does from the first minute is really challenging.