Diego Schwartzman straddled two eras in tennis between the end of the ‘big three’ and the start of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s dominance.
The Argentine spoke exclusively to Tennishead about his new role with INTENNSE and his impressive tennis career.
Schwartzman said how many Grand Slams Alcaraz and Sinner could win and now he has had his say on the current era of tennis.
The former world number eight has now shared where he would be ranked if he was playing in this era during his peak.
Diego Schwartzman says he would be ranked higher in this era
Schwartzman reached a career ranking high of world number eight in his career, but he believes he could be ranked even higher in this era.
Asked in an exclusive interview with Tennishead where he would be ranked in this era, if he was playing in his prime, he responded: “It’s difficult, difficult to say.
“But I mean playing my best level with different options to play, I think I would reach the quarter-finals in the Grand Slams, for sure. [I’d be ranked] a little bit more than eight, four or five maybe.”
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
Schwartzman reached the quarter-finals of the US Open and the semi-finals of Roland Garros, but he struggled comparatively at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
The Argentine only managed as far as the third round at Wimbledon on two occasions, and he went one further in Melbourne.
Schwartzman reached the fourth round of the Australian Open on two occasions, in 2018 and 2020, but never reached the latter stages.
Diego Schwartzman shares the best chance he had to win a Grand Slam
Schwartzman reached the semi-finals of Roland Garros in 2020, where he set up a match with Nadal in the final four.
The Argentine had just knocked Rafael Nadal out of the quarter-finals of the Italian Open, and he conceded that Roland Garros was one of his best chances to win a Grand Slam.
“I mean, I played too many good tournaments in Roland Garros and always, always, I lost to Rafa. Three times in the second week, you know, semi final, quarters, another time quarters.
What is your bold prediction for the 2026 tennis season?
“My feeling at that time, it was, yeah, I’m playing good tennis, good, very good to be in the semi final, maybe Grand Slam final, but Rafa was always in front.
“You know, that’s why he won so many Roland Garros titles. Meeting Rafa in Roland Garros was impossible for me.”
Schwartzman lost 11 of his 12 matches against Nadal, with his only victory coming at the 2020 Italian Open.
