Schwartzman Cops It Where It Hurts At Madrid 2017
Schwartzman Cops It Where It Hurts At Madrid 2017
May102017
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Diego Schwartzman had a far more eventful warm-up than he would have liked against Kei Nishikori on Wednesday at the Mutua Madrid Open, with a shot from the sixth seed hitting him directly in the groin.
Both Schwartzman and Nishikori had a laugh at the incident and the crowd even gave Schwartzman a sympathetic round of applause as he briefly collected himself. But the most crushing blow that Nishikori delivered was a backhand winner to wrap up a 1-6, 6-0, 6-4 second-round win in exactly two hours.
Nishikori next plays local favourite David Ferrer in the round of 16 on Thursday.
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World number two Novak Djokovic reached the Madrid Open third round by winning his first match since parting company with his coaching staff on Friday.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion beat Spanish wildcard Nicolas Almagro 6-1 4-6 7-5 and plays Feliciano Lopez next.
Defending champion Djokovic, 29, described Friday’s decision as “shock therapy”, and will be on the tour alone until he appoints a new coach.
Rafael Nadal also went through with victory over Italian Fabio Fognini.
The Spaniard won 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-4 in a match that lasted just under three hours to set up a tie with Australia’s Nick Kyrgios.
Britain’s Andy Murray is already through to round three after Tuesday’s straight-set victory over Romanian Marius Copil.
He will play Croatia’s world number 59 Borna Coric, who beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France 7-5 6-4 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Djokovic said he may appoint a new coach before the French Open, which begins on 28 May.
“I’m going to think about who I want in my team and I don’t yet have anyone. But I think by the French Open, or after the French Open, I’m going to have someone,” he said.
“I understand people are trying to speculate and create a list because I was saying I would like to have someone who was kind of in my shoes before.”
In the women’s tournament in Madrid, Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the quarter-finals after top seed Angelique Kerber retired from their match through injury.
World number two Kerber was trailing 6-3 5-0 against the Canadian, who beat Maria Sharapova – the woman she called a cheat – on Monday.
Despite the third-round exit, Germany’s Kerber is still guaranteed to overtake American Serena Williams as world number one when the latest WTA rankings are published on Monday.
Bouchard, ranked 60 in the world, goes on to play Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova, the world number nine.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller:
This was a stuttering start to life without the coaching team which had been such a huge part of his career, but Djokovic played very soundly in the deciding set from 3-0 down, as Almagro’s purple patch faded spectacularly.
The world number two was watched by his brother Marko and Pepe Imaz – a former pro, who now promotes a ‘Love and Peace Tennis Experience’ – and has been part of Djokovic’s wider team for a few years.
Fognini, meanwhile, reminded us of his exquisite talent in a mesmerising match with Nadal. He saved one match point with a 90mph forehand onto the baseline, but once again, for the 11th time out of 11 on clay this year, Nadal ran out the winner.
Maria Sharapova will feature alongside eight of the world’s top 10 if she accepts a wildcard for next month’s Aegon Classic in Birmingham.
Britain’s Johanna Konta will play, along with Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova and Angelique Kerber, who will return to world number one on Monday.
BBC Sport understands Sharapova will be offered a wildcard for Birmingham.
The Russian, who returned from a 15-month doping ban last month, lost to Eugenie Bouchard in Madrid on Monday.
Her involvement in Spain, courtesy of another wildcard, ended in the second round courtesy of a 7-5 2-6 6-4 defeat to the Canadian, who had been critical of the Russian, calling her a “cheat” and saying she should never have been allowed to play again.
She also received a wildcard for Stuttgart in April, where she reached the last four.
The line-up for Birmingham is the strongest ever seen at the grass-court event.
Of the current top 10, only Svetlana Kuznetsova and Serena Williams, who recently announced her pregnancy, are missing.
The event runs from 17-25 June and is one of three tournaments – along with the Aegon Open in Nottingham and the Aegon International in Eastbourne – in the lead up to Wimbledon in July.
Sharapova, who has not played a Wimbledon warm-up event since she reached the final in Birmingham in 2010, remains some way adrift of direct entry into the Wimbledon main draw.
She will need to reach the semi-finals in Rome next week to make sure. A first-round defeat could cost her a place in qualifying unless the All England Club offers her a wildcard.
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