Schwartzman edges Garin in sudden death to set up Fritz semi-final at UTS4

UTS4 – Group A

Schwartzman beats Garin – 12-14, 16-6, 12-16, 14-11, 2-1

• What happened: Diego Schwartzman beat Cristian Garin in sudden death to win group A.
• You will also learn: El Tanque double faulted on match point to give Schwartzman victory.
• Why you should read this article: Schwartzman will meet Taylor Fritz while Garin will play Corentin Moutet in the other semi-final.

Diego Schwartzman, El Peque, edged out El Tanque, Cristian Garin in a sudden-death thriller to complete a 3-0 record and finish top of group A at UTS4.

Garin twice led by a quarter only to be pegged back by the dogged Schwartzman, who won the fourth quarter to force sudden death and then saved a match point before a double fault by Garin handed him victory.

Schwartzman will meet American Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals while Garin faces group B winner Corentin Moutet.

“I’m very excited to play in the semi-finals,” Schwartzman said. “I won the group, won three matches, did a lot of running, was very aggressive and am enjoying it, which I think is the important thing about UTS4.” 

We’re just getting started here… 🔥

Semis, #UTS4

🇦🇷 “El Peque v “The Hotshot” 🇺🇸
🇨🇱 “El Tanque v “The Tornado” 🇫🇷

Who plays the final?

— UTS | Ultimate Tennis Showdown (@UTShowdown) May 25, 2021

Intense start for Garin

Both men went into the match on the back of two straight wins, making their encounter a winner takes all clash and both immediately settled into their games, hammering groundstrokes into the corners.

A massive forehand return put El Tanque 11-8 ahead and he held his lead to 13-10, before two big returns from Schwartzman pulled him to within a point, with five seconds remaining, only for the Argentinian to lose his bearings and send a backhand into the net to hand Garin the opening quarter.

“I had a chance and then I heard the (UTS) clock and I forgot I had a few more seconds,” Schwartzman said.

Schwartzman storms back in KO mode

The forgetfulness didn’t seem to bother Schwartzman, though, and the world No 10 raced into a 7-1 lead in the second quarter, attacking the Garin serve whenever he could.

El Tanque produced his winner x 2 card and won both points to get back to 8-6, but El Tanque then used his win in three shots card, and won both points as Garin could not find the winner in time.

Garin threw in a couple of drop shots but they didn’t work and Schwartzman completed the quarter with KO mode, leading 16-6 with just under a minute remaining.

Momentum changes again

“I need to get back to the rhythm of the first quarter,” Garin said.

The Chilean was true to his word, too, as he started the third quarter with renewed energy, marching ahead 5-3 and then extending his lead to 7-4.

Schwartzman showed off his stunning defensive skills as he retrieved two Garin smashes in one point but at 9-11, a missed backhand and a double fault handed El Tanque a lead he never looked like relinquishing.

Some HIGH-INTENSITY clay-court tennis from @dieschwartzman and @Garin_Cris 🔥#UTS4 pic.twitter.com/BJEWV4exhG

— Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) May 25, 2021

El Peque hits back to force sudden death

Garin stormed ahead early in the fourth quarter as he took a 3-0 lead but Schwartzman didn’t panic, cutting out the errors to turn things around and lead 6-4.

The two continued to produce some stunning points, none better than the one at 9-7 when Garin hit a superb drop shot and when Schwartzman played a brilliant angle, El Tanque scrambled across to his right and dived while hitting the ball from outside the court, back around the net and away for a winner.

Too good @Garin_Cris 👏#UTS4 pic.twitter.com/ixODI5KTMn

— Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) May 25, 2021

But Schwartzman hit back, levelled at 11-11 and found a way to win the quarter to force sudden death. Garin then had the first match point but netted a backhand, before a double fault gave Schwartman the win.