On paper, the poster was beautiful. Between Diego Schwartzman and Jannik Sinner, there had to be a match, especially on clay. Except that the two men are on radically opposite dynamics. While the Italian (21, 8th) is in full swing and remains in two finals (Miami, Rotterdam) and a half (Indian Wells), the Argentinian (30, 37th) had a sad record of three victories for nine defeats before this Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo.
And that was clearly seen in a one-sided first set where Schwartzman was never able to take the measure of his young opponent. Not sure that the discomfort in the left shoulder which required a medical time-out at the end of the round is the main reason. It is a fact, Schwartzman is, for a few months, only the shadow of the one who had been semi-finalist at Roland-Garros three years ago.
Confidence at half mast, first balls around 140 km / h (for once, the shoulder must have had something to do with it), negative body language, Schwartzman could not do anything against a Sinner who did not need to force his tennis to fly over the debates. In fact, there was no match since the Argentinian logically ended up giving up at 6-0, 3-1. To see one, it will be necessary to wait for the next round where Sinner will face Hubert Hurkacz, seeded n ° 10.
