After beating Andy Murray in an absorbing opener, Diego Schwartzman was authoritative in his quarterfinal victory over Brandon Nakashima. The 29-year-old Argentine cruised through in straight sets 6-4 6-2 against the American on Center Court on Friday at the ATP Antwerp Open.
In the semifinal, Schwartzman will lock horns against fast-rising American qualifier Jenson Brooksby. The 20-year-old American rose to prominence during this year’s North American hard-court swing. He was a semi-finalist at Washington, defeating some of the established names on the tour like Felix Auger-Aliassime, Frances Tiafoe, and Kevin Anderson en route to his memorable run. At the US Open, Brooksby reached the round of 16, losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets. Though he suffered cramps during the closing stages of his clash against Djokovic, the way he dominated the Serb in the opening set would have given the youngster a lot of confidence.
Brooksby, the qualifier, is yet to drop a set so far at Antwerp. Indeed, American appears to have hit something of a purple patch, winning two sets to love, something Schwartzman will be wary of ahead of his semifinal clash. In the quarterfinal, Brooksby got better of the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-5 6-0 in an hour and 43 minutes.
Brooksby, who is relatively new to life on the ATP Tour, has never played Schwartzman before and while the American hasn’t dropped a set so far at the ATP Antwerp Open, he hasn’t faced anyone of Schwartzman’s caliber either in the tournament. That said, the world #14 has been going through a lean patch this season. However, his back-to-back straight-set victories, including over Andy Murray, will give the Argentine a lot of confidence as he prepares himself to face his next opponent.
Clinical hitting from the baseline with pinpoint precision has been the feature of Schwartzman’s game in his opening couple of rounds. If he can maintain the same level of consistency, the 29-year-old Argentine will be hard to beat at the business end of the tournament. Neither of the two has huge serves and one can expect to be treated to engaging baseline rallies as Schwartzman and Brooksby battle it out for a spot in the final.
Barring the first five games against Murray in the opener, Schwartzman has been relentless in long baseline rallies. Brooksby might find it difficult to consistently stay in these taxing rallies over longer periods. The American youngster must aim to attack Schwartzman’s weaker second serves to upset the Argentine’s rhythm. He must emphasize playing an offensive brand of tennis whenever an opportunity presents by moving closer to the net to put Schwartzman under pressure.
Schwartzman can potentially view the semifinal and a possible final at Antwerp as a genuine chance to resurrect what has been an off-colour season for him. Can Schwartzman bring an end to Brooksby’s dream run or will the American stun Schwartzman to reach his second final of the season?
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