Schwartzman Survives Anderson, Ida & A Court Change
Cheered on by a small contingent of Argentinean fans at the US Open, Diego Schwartzman completed a remarkable victory over Kevin Anderson at 1:02am local time Thursday morning.
In a match that began on Louis Armstrong Stadium six hours earlier and finished on Arthur Ashe Stadium due to extreme weather conditions, 11th seed Schwartzman came through multiple delays to beat 2017 finalist Anderson 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4 for a place in the third round.
Speaking to Brad Gilbert in a post-match interview, Schwartzman started by saying, “First of all thank you everyone for staying tonight, it’s been crazy weather. It was very difficult before the match.
“I am very happy and I was able to play my best tennis in the last two sets. He served better on Arthur Ashe [Anderson hit 24 aces in total], but I was able to take my opportunities and my second serve held up. I wanted to finish today, not tomorrow.”
Schwartzman’s reward in a third-round meeting against Alex Molcan, this year’s Belgrade Open finalist from the Slovak Republic. “I haven’t seen the draw, so I didn’t know who I would play,” Schwartzman told Gilbert. “But I know Molcan played well in Belgrade and reached the final.”
Former Hurricane Ida caused havoc at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday night, flooding the grounds, toppling furniture and forced the Schwartzman-Anderson encounter to be suspended on two occasions in the first set under a closed roof on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The second-round clash was suspended for 30 minutes at 5-5 in the first set, then again at 4/4 in the tie-break when both players complained about the slippery surface. Outside, the storm forced New York’s subway service to be suspended, fans returned to cars wading through knee-deep water at times and past trees outside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center that had been uprooted.
Schwartzman and Anderson returned once more to Louis Armstrong Stadium, completing the first set - extended across one hour and 48 minutes - and the first game of the second set, before play was suspended for a third time with Anderson serving at 30/15 in the second game.
But following the conclusion of third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas’ victory over Adrian Mannarino inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Schwartzman and Anderson moved to the main show court. Cheered on by actor Ben Stiller and fans from Argentina, Schwartzman won three straight games from 3-3 in the second set and raised his level once more with a series of powerful winners to break to love at 3-3 in the third set.
Covering the court well, Schwartzman pushed his South African opponent outside of the tramlines and wrapped up his second straight win over the South African after three hours and 13 minutes of playing time to end an eventful day at the US Open. It was Schwartzman’s 25th match win of the year.