Beware of Diego Schwartzman, a Tennis David in a Sport of Goliaths

MODERN men’s professional tennis does not really do small.The last Grand Slam men’s singles champion who was not at least six feet tall was Gaston Gaudio of Argentina, the 2004 French Open champion. During the past decade, as tennis has become ever more physical, just two men under six feet have even made a Grand Slam final.

And yet, the most dangerous man in Paris right now besides Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic may be a steady baseliner from Argentina named Diego Schwartzman, whose listed height of 5 feet 7 inches could be one of the more generous measurements in professional sports.

In the biggest win of his career, Schwartzman knocked off the No. 3 seed, Dominic Thiem, the United States Open champion, in a five-set marathon that lasted five hour and eight minutes. The 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory featured Schwartzman in his classic form