Boris Becker enjoyed a stellar career in tennis, winning six Major titles, reaching world number one in the process.
The German ATP Tour legend impressed throughout his 16-year professional career, bringing home 49 titles.
Becker enjoyed Major success at Wimbledon, where he was a three-time champion, winning in 1985, 1986, and 1989.
He then went on to secure victory in New York in 1989 before winning the Australian Open in 1991 and 1996.
The now 57-year-old was never quite able to get over the line and win the French Open, however, falling at the semi-final stage three times during his career.
Becker’s best result at Roland Garros matches that of a former top ten ATP star who is set to retire from the sport this week, as the German now shares his thoughts on the former French Open semi-finalist.
Boris Becker sends ‘giant’ Diego Schwartzman a message ahead of his retirement at the Argentina Open
2020 French Open semi-finalist Diego Schwartzman is set to retire from tennis upon the conclusion of this year’s Argentina Open.
Ahead of what may be his final-ever match later today, Becker spoke highly of Schwartzman on X.
“Diego [Schwartzman] was a giant among the best of his generation,” he said.
The Argentine competed at the highest level for over ten years, despite being much smaller than the majority of his rivals.
Standing at 5ft 7, Schwartzman was significantly shorter than the rest of the ATP top ten, when he reached his career-high of eighth in the world back in October 2020.
| Rank | Name | Points | Height |
| 1 | Novak Djokovic | 11,740 | 6ft 2 |
| 2 | Rafael Nadal | 9,850 | 6ft 1 |
| 3 | Dominic Thiem | 9,125 | 6ft 1 |
| 4 | Roger Federer | 6,630 | 6ft 1 |
| 5 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 5,925 | 6ft 4 |
| 6 | Daniil Medvedev | 5,890 | 6ft 6 |
| 7 | Alexander Zverev | 4,650 | 6ft 6 |
| 8 | Diego Schwartzman | 3,180 | 5ft 7 |
| 9 | Matteo Berrettini | 3,075 | 6ft 5 |
| 10 | Andrey Rublev | 2,974 | 6ft 2 |
Schwartzman was the only member of the top ten shorter than six feet tall, a remarkable feat that shouldn’t be underestimated.
In a farewell letter to the ATP Tour, Schwartzman spoke about his height and how he didn’t want it to define him as a player.
“Something a lot of people spoke about was my height, 170 centimetres,” he said.
“I didn’t like that during my career, because many times when I was playing good tournaments, everyone was asking me how I did it and how I was going to win the next match.
“It was all about my weight, my height and everything about my small body.
“Nobody is at the top without height, it’s true, barely anybody in the Top 100 is my height, I can’t lie, it was tough.”
The 32-year-old had to work hard to compete against the very best in men’s tennis.
“I had to work so hard off the court so that my opponents did not feel I had less power or my movements were shorter or anything,” said Schwartzman.
“For sure I know that height is a very important thing playing tennis.
“But more than 50 percent of the way you win matches comes from what you do away from the court.”
Diego Schwartzman set for retirement showdown with Nicolas Jarry at the Argentina Open
The Buenos Aires rain may have prolonged Schwartzman’s career by an extra day, as his first-round match was called off on Tuesday.
He will now take on Chilean seventh seed Nicolas Jarry at the Argentina Open on Wednesday at Court Guillermo Villas.
Their match is scheduled to be the second of three matches played on Centre Court later today, as several other big clashes take place.
- Match one – [8] Tomas Martin Etcheverry v Joao Fonseca
- Match two – [7] Nicolas Jarry v Diego Schwartzman
- Match three – [5] Francisco Cerundolo v Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Young Brazilian star Joao Fonseca will make his return to the court on Wednesday, as he faces a tough test against seeded Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Fonseca shocked top-ten star Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open and will be hoping to make more headlines with a strong performance in Buenos Aires.
After fans on Court Guillermo Villas witness a future ATP star for the first time, they’ll potentially see Schwartzman grace the court one final time.
Schwartzman last won a tour-level main draw match 484 days ago, in the first round of the Japan Open, but will be hoping that his home fans can push him to extend his career by at least one more day.
Last up, brothers Francisco Cerundolo and Juan Manuel Cerundolo will face off for a place in the quarter finals.
The pair are separated by over 100 places in the ATP rankings, with Francisco Cerundolo enjoying more success than his brother over recent years.
However, Juan Manuel Cerundolo will be looking to spring an unlikely upset as he takes on his brother in an enticing clash.
The Argentina Open in Buenos Aires will conclude with the final on Sunday, February 16.
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