Special year for everyone due to the coronavirus pandemic and a historic year for three Argentines. 2020 will always be remembered for Diego Schwartzman, Nadia Podoroska and Horacio Zeballos, Argentina’s top trio on the professional tennis circuit. All three shone and reached personal records and historical records for their country. For this reason, they were undisputed figures in their land and throughout Latin America.
Schwartzman became the No. 1 in Argentina and Latin America. Made history: for the first time he defeated Rafael Nadal, reached a Masters 1000 final, in Rome, reached the semi-final in a Grand Slam, at Roland Garros, got into the Top 10 of the world ranking and played the ATP Finals, in London. So this was a very special year for Schwartzman. Covid-19 shortened the official calendar and at age 28 he closed the season being No. 9 in the world and reached 8th place, the highest in his life.
Schwartzman had his first big moment of the season with the memorable first win over Nadal, world No. 2, who weeks later reached 13 titles at Roland Garros to tie the Swiss Roger Federer’s all-time record of 20 Grand Slam. In his only definition in a Masters 1000, he fell to Serbian Novak Djokovic, world No. 1, and he had the pleasure of reaching such an important final.
In Paris he achieved another memorable success, against Austrian Dominic Thiem (3rd), in the quarter-finals, key as he was the US Open champion and Australian finalist, to advance to his so far only Grand Slam semi-final. He played another final, in Cologne, and qualified for the first time at the ATP Finals, the end-of-year Masters, being the eighth Argentine in singles. In London he lost all three games, but who can take away such an experience?
For Horacio Zeballos it was the doubles season of his dreams, because he reached his best ranking, being No. 3 in the world, and he qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time, being a semifinalist in London together with Marcel Granollers. They reached the semifinals and an injury to the Spaniard complicated the pair’s journey.
For the first time in his professional career he won four titles in a row with the same partner. In 2020 he won three tournaments, always triumphing on brick dust, in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, prior to Covid-19, and in Rome, already in the final stretch.
Thus, Zeballos reached 16 titles in doubles in Rome, with various teammates, surpassing Lucas Arnold-Ker in the historical list and tying Guillermo Vilas as the Argentine with the most cups in that event in all history. It was at the Italian Open that he had the pleasure of winning a Masters 1000 on a slow surface, after celebrating last year in the aforementioned in Canada and in Indian Wells, together with Croatian Nikola Mektic.
On her own, Podoroska had an incredible two weeks at Roland Garros. She reached this high for the first time in a Grand Slam, playing the semifinals and after overcoming qualifying, and ended her unforgettable 2020 in the Top 50 of the WTA ranking, being No. 47 on the list.
She added a great victory over a Top 30, until she shook the victory against the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, No. 5 in the world and former champion of the WTA Masters. That passage to the semifinals was historic for his country and the region. Podoroska became the fifth Argentine player to advance to the semis at Roland Garros, after Raquel Giscafré, Gabriela Sabatini and Clarisa Fernández, being the first since Paola Suárez in 2004.
Without a doubt, he made great history, like Schwartzman and Zeballos, the undisputed leaders of Argentine tennis in an atypical and very special 2020.
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