Diego Schwartzman played a brilliant match to take down a tired Andy Murray in Antwerp 6-4 7-6(6) at the Antwerp European Open.
Schwartzman arrived in Belgium after one of his best showings of the year. He reached the quarterfinal of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and some of the form translated to Belgium. The Argentinian was a bit lucky to play against a very tired Murray who played almost 4 hours in the previous round. Murray held an early lead but faltered later to lose the match with Schwartzman saying after the match:
"It was a pleasure to play against Andy. We had not played before and he is coming back and every week he is playing better and moving better. I have a lot of respect because when I grew up playing tennis, I was watching Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal], Andy and Novak [Djokovic] and right now playing against him, is a pleasure for me.”
Schwartzman usually does very well in Belgium simply because the Argentinian enjoys it here so much. He is especially fond of Antwerp saying after the match:
“I really like to play here. I like the city and the story. It is a very special city for me because when I started to play my best tennis, I reached the finals here twice. I also enjoy it here with the people. It is special after so many months with playing without crowds.”
His next opponent will be Brandon Nakashima who has been playing some stellar tennis at this event. Schwartzman will have to be careful against Nakashima who can be tricky to beat.