Diego Schwartzman revealed details of his first conversation with football star Lionel Messi, during which the latter called Rafael Nadal "lucky".

Argentine player Schwartzman faced Nadal in the quarter-finals of the 2018 French Open, losing to the Big Three member 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 2-6. Shortly after, he met his idol Messi for the first time and the two have since gone on to become friends.

The 31-year-old was seen cheering on Argentina's victory at the 2022 World Cup and recently traveled to see Messi make his Inter Miami debut in the Leagues Cup over the summer, where the pair were seen talking on the bench.

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Schwartzman reveals mention of Nadal in first conversation 

During the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in Frankfurt last month, Schwartzman sat down with Andrey Rublev, Christopher Eubanks, and Jan-Lennard Struff to discuss different aspects of their careers. The former World No. 8 then revealed how he learned that Messi was watching his matches.

"The first time I met him [Messi], it was before the World Cup in Russia in 2018. 

"I lost to Rafa in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and I was a set and break up. And after that date, I had my flight from Barcelona and the Argentinians were doing their preparation for the World Cup there with the national team," he said.

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"So I went there with a few players and spoke [to him]. And the first thing he said to me was, 'How lucky was Rafa?'

"In Spanish obviously, ‘How lucky was Rafa with the rain?’ Because I was a set and a break ahead and the rain stopped the match. I was leading 6-4 3-1 and break point for 4-1 and after that we played like 15 minutes and then came back the next day. And after that I lost like, it was too easy for him playing with the sun at noon," he continued.

However, Schwartzman highlighted that at the time, he was too busy delighting in the fact that Messi knew who he was.

"But while Messi was telling me that I was thinking, ‘He was watching the match, he knows who I am."

José Morgado

@josemorgado

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Messi and Schwartzman today 🇦🇷

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