"He imposes the most respect on you" says Diego Schwartzman on Rafael Nadal

His lone victory came at the Rome Masters in 2020 when the Argentinian played superb tennis to defeat Nadal on clay. Only a fortnight later Nadal would be lifting the Roland Garros trophy showcasing that his form was not terrible at the event and that Schwartzman simply outplayed him. In a recent sitdown in his native Argentina, Schwartzman praised Nadal saying:

“On clay, it is almost impossible to follow the rhythm and dominance that he (Nadal) has. Rafa is the one who imposes the most respect on you when entering the field."

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It's a very true statement especially when talking about clay tennis. No player is more feared than Nadal on clay and many players lose the match even before stepping onto the red dirt. It's something Schwartzman felt as well:

"It is like you enter more defeated."

He also compared him to Federer who tends to play more relaxed which is easier to face according to Schwartzman. With Nadal there is just a lot of pressure:

"Federer being so relaxed, sometimes he gives you a game. On the other hand, it is an entirely different story against El Nino. You enter the Nadal match, and it seems that everything from the first point to the last point, is the last in his career."