Diego Schwartzman (10) meets Philipp Kohlschreiber (PR) in the third round of the 2021 French Open on Saturday, June 5th 2021.
Will the veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber be able to cause a second big upset here in Paris or will Diego Schwartzman be able to build his game back up to the levels we were used to seeing it at in 2020 as he looks to retain his semi final points?
Philipp Kohlschreiber was out of this world in the second round, causing a huge upset against a very strong player in Aslan Karatsev who has been great in 2021. Philipp has not been able to find form over the last few years due to injury issues, but it was great to see him back in form here in Paris. Philipp will now have to be even better as he meets Diego who loves to play in these conditions and he will come out here ready to give it his best even if he knows he might not come through on top.
Diego Schwartzman cruised through his second round match against Aljaz Bedene, beating him in 3 sets 6-4/6-2/6-4. Diego Schwartzman will be very happy with his first two matches here as he has been able to not lose a set yet, but he knows he still has a logn way to go if he is to reach the level of play he was playing with last year when he made his way into the Top 10 for the first time in his career. Will we see Diego at his absolute best ever again this year, or will he be knocked out by a dark horse?
This is going to be the 2nd meeting between both players, with Philipp having won their only prior encounter. Although Phillip won their match, I don’t see this happening here. Philipp has been away for a long time from the tour, and he will have to get a lot more matches under his belt if he is to challenge someone like Diego Schwartzman on a clay court. If this was an indoor hard court, I could see a potential upset, but on clay I don’t see this happening. Look for Diego to continue improving his game and gaining confidence in Paris.