Diego Schwartzman beats Nadal and Shapovalov to advance to Italian Open finals
Jewish Argentinian star won his match against Nadal in straight sets after losing to him on nine previous occasions
Tenth time is the charm: After previously losing to Rafael Nadal nine straight times, Diego Schwartzman stunned him in straight sets on Saturday.
The Jewish Argentine tennis star won 6-2, 7-5 in just over two hours in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open, which takes place on clay — the surface that Nadal is best on.
“For sure, it’s my best match ever,” Schwartzman said. “I played a few times against the three big champions in tennis. I never beat them until today. I’m very happy.”
Up next for Schwartzman was Denis Shapovalov, a Canadian tennis player born in Tel Aviv. Schwartzman won 6-5, 5-7, 7-6(4) on Sunday to advance to the final against Novak Djokovic on Monday.
Shapovalov’s parents were born in Russia and emigrated to Israel at the collapse of the Soviet Union before moving to Canada. His mother, a former Russian national tennis team player, is Jewish, and his father is Russian Eastern Orthodox Christian. Shapovalov plays for Canada and does not identify as Jewish.
Schwartzman was born in a Jewish family in Buenos Aires and has written about his family’s Holocaust history.
If Schwartzman beats Djokovic, “two dreams,” as he calls them, will come true: winning a prestigious Masters 1000 level tournament, and entering the top 10 in the international rankings for the first time in his career. He’s currently ranked 15 in the world.
Yet just by playing in the finals, he’s already made history: He is the shortest finalist ever, listed at 5’7″ (he’s likely even shorter).
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
