Schwartzman ready to fulfil 'big dream' at the Olympics
Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman has big boots to fill – literally and figuratively. The diminutive Argentine goes into this year’s Olympic Tennis Event as the highest-ranked player from his country and for the last two Olympic Games, the light blue and white flag has been raised during the medal ceremony of the men’s singles.
Juan Martin del Potro ensured Argentina had a presence on the podium after winning bronze in London in 2012 and silver in Rio in 2016, and it was the Tower of Tandil himself who was one of the reasons that Schwartzman was unable to take his place at the Olympics in Brazil.
“The last time, in Rio, I was there by ranking,” explained Schwartzman, “but [Juan Martin] Del Potro and [Juan] Monaco used their protected ranking and I was out, so it was an upset for me.
“It’s a big dream. I like to be as a group, as a country, it’s a totally different way to see a competition. I don’t know what to expect. It’s a big competition for tennis, so I hope to enjoy [it] a lot.”
Schwartzman went on to say that all Argentines are very patriotic so he’s no doubt expecting people to stay up late or get up early to watch his matches on the other side of the world.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Tennis Event starts on Friday 24 July, with the medal matches scheduled to take place on 30 July-1 August.