Cincinnati Masters 1000: Diego Schwartzman celebrated his birthday with a win and moved on to the second round

Diego Schwartzmann He closes his birthday in the best possible way, obtaining a resounding victory at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati against the Russian Aslan Karatsev 7-6 (3), 3-6 and 6-2, in almost three hours of play. The 30-year-old from Buenos Aires thus moved on to the round of 16 of a match in which he was the only Argentine representative, after Sebastián Báez’s fall against American Taylor Fritz.

Taking into account the ATP world rankings, El Peque, who is in 16th place, started as the favorite against the European, who is in 38th place. However, the last two fights in 2021 were for Karatsev’s victory.

The first set was the most even and was defined in the tie break, where Schwartzman prevailed with authority 7-3. In the second set the Russian was superior: he managed to break through in the fourth game and equalized the result. The resolution of the match, therefore, passed to the third set.

There El Peque became strong with his serve and did not give his rival a chance to take a break. He wins his three services and keeps two of his rival, to establish the final 6-2 and move on to the group of the 16 best tennis players of the tournament, where he awaits the winner of the match between the Greek Stéfanos Tsitsipas (7th) and the Serbian Filip Krajinovic ( 46 °), which will be measured this Wednesday from 14:40.

Statistics showed that Schwartzman achieved 76% success on his first serve, winning 60% of his service points and committing three double faults, while Karatsev achieved 51% success on his first serve, winning 60% and 55% service points and committed 11 double fouls.

The Argentine had just beaten the Slovak Alex Molcan (39th) in the first round. Although he lost the first set 7-5, where he suffered from left shoulder discomfort, he won the next two sets, 6-4 and 6-2.

The most awaited: the return of Nadal

The race, meanwhile, still lacks the presentation of Nadal, who included this tournament as part of the hardcourt tour before the US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year to be played in New York on August 29.

The 36-year-old Manacor-born and world number 3 player, who survived an abdominal injury sustained in the Wimbledon semi-finals last month, will make his second round debut this Wednesday against Borna Corić.

The Cincinnati Masters 1000, which in 2021 was won by the German Alexander Zverev (2nd), absent in the current edition due to an injury suffered at Roland Garros, has been held since the 1968 edition, has distributed prizes of $ 6,971. 275 and its first winner is Swiss Roger Federer, who has lifted the trophy seven times: 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015.