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, Schwartzma
When asked to select the most terrifying player on tour, Schwartzman chose Sinner in an episode of the Nothing Maj
or podcast.
n declared his intention to retire from tennis following the 2025 Argentina Open.
“Let’s choose one of the new guys. I think Sinner. I played him a few times. He wasn’t even top 10 yet. I was saying ‘Come on… what is this guy?’ Sliding, power, movement, everything. It’s scary,” the Argentine said.
“It’s crazy because we played against Novak, Roger, Rafa. These guys are gods. But Sinner and Alcaraz… what they do with their bodies is crazy.”
“We ought to pick one of the freshmen. Sinner, I believe. I played him a few times. He wasn’t even top 10 yet. I was saying ‘Come on… what is this guy?’ Sliding, power, movement, everything. It’s scary,” the Argentine said.
“It’s crazy because we played against Novak, Roger, Rafa. These guys are gods. But Sinner and Alcaraz… what they do with their bodies is crazy.”
Earlier this year, Schwartzman spoke about Nadal’s unique mentality and contrasted the legendary Spaniard’s approach with that of Djokovic and Federer.
“I think Rafa, of the three, is the one who commands the most respect when you enter the court. It’s like you enter the court a little more defeated,” the four-time ATP title winner told ESPN
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.