Dominic Thiem won’t get a chance for redemption after losing two straight French Open finals in the previous year. Thiem, who won the US Open last month, was eliminated in the quarter-finals of this year’s tournament by Diego Schwartzman in an epic five-set match.
Schwartzman, the world’s No. 12 player, took the lead in the first set via 7-6 (7-1) tiebreaker and had a chance to double the lead in the second set having 5-4 and 15-30. However, Thiem rallied to win the three following games and tie the match before taking the third set in another 6-7 (6-8) tiebreaker.
The fourth set was another nail-biter, with Schwartzman emerging victorious after the third tiebreaker in the match. At that point, Thiem was already exhausted, allowing the Argentinian to book his ticket to semi-finals with a dominant 6-2 outing in the fifth set.
“We are friends,” said Schwartzman after the match. “I have a lot of respect for him, and that’s why this match is very, very important for me. Not just to play a good match, winning after five hours in Philippe Chatrier, the first time. I’ve played few times five sets here, and I never win. I think at the end, this night, I deserve to win. Come on.”
The semi-finals appearance, which will see him face Rafael Nadal in this year’s tournament, will be Diego Schwartzman’s best outing on French Open. His previous best result was quarterfinals in 2018.
Dominic Thiem, on the other hand, ends his road on Roland Garros before the semi-finals for the first time since 2015.
“I was over the limit today,” said Thiem. “I still could play at quite a high level for more than five hours. But, I mean, [Schwartzman] was keeping it up until the end. He was probably a little bit fresher than me in the fifth set.”
