Diego Schwartzman made headlines a couple of days ago when he defeated the ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal in straight sets at the Italian Open. Now, he is one win away from his first ATP Masters 1000 title as he faces world number one Novak Djokovic in the final.

Schwartzman is known to be a fierce competitor and a great fighter on the court. He is one of the dark horses in most tournaments he is part of and has earned fans among other players on Tour as well.

One such top player, Dominic Thiem, spoke highly of Schwartzman’s game. “I like it anyway. His touch is sensational, he moves extremely well and he is a true fighter. I like watching such athletes,” the US Open 2020 champion said in an interview.

Thiem speaks highly of former doubles partner Diego Schwartzman

His answer was in response to a question on his favorite South American players on the tour. Thiem said he has two Argentines on that list and was quick to talk about his friendship with Schwartzman.

“Without a question: my pal Diego Schwartzman. From the beginning we got along very well, he is a really nice guy. Entertaining, spontaneous, and a true friend. At tournaments, we spend a lot of time together in the players´ lounge playing board games and we reached the doubles final in Madrid,” Thiem said further.

The other Argentine player on his list was Juan Martin Del Potro.

The two players, who are in the singles top-10, reached two doubles finals together last year. They made the finals at the Argentina Open and the Madrid Open.

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Schwartzman’s dream run in Rome

At the ongoing Italian Open, Schwartzman has shown his fighting spirit, something that Thiem mentioned. He held off Rafael Nadal under pressure in the second set and defeated the nine-time champion in the quarter-final.

In an epic semi-final contest against Canadian Denis Shapovalov, Schwartzman once again dug deep and won in three tight sets 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4). He broke serve in the final set as Shapovalov served for the match.

Meanwhile, Thiem decided to skip the event in order to regroup after his US Open win, in time for the French Open 2020 that starts next week.