Schwartzman after final US Open: ‘I’m grateful for all the years I’ve been here’

p He may not be a home favourite nor a former champion, but a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/diego-schwartzman/sm37/overview'Diego Schwartzman/a’s connection with the New York crowd has always run deep. /p

p The former No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings completed the final match of his a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a career on Monday afternoon, when he fell to a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/gael-monfils/mc65/overview'Gael Monfils/a in four sets on Grandstand. Just a few hours after another former Top 10 star in the PIF ATP Rankings, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/dominic-thiem/tb69/overview'Dominic Thiem/a, also completed his final New York match in emotional circumstances, it was fan favourite Schwartzman’s turn to step up to the mic. /p

p “It’s difficult to speak. I am a guy who cries a lot. Sorry,” said a tearful Schwartzman in a post-match interview as the crowd cheered him on. “I’m not supposed to cry now, I have to be strong.” /p

blockquote class="twitter-tweet"p lang="en" dir="ltr"We#39;re not crying, you#39;re crying ????brbr❤️ a href="https://twitter.com/dieschwartzman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"@dieschwartzman/a a href="https://twitter.com/usopen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"@usopen/a | a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USOpen?src=hashamp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"#USOpen/a a href="https://t.co/kNxajGLFvM"pic.twitter.com/kNxajGLFvM/a/pmdash; ATP Tour (@atptour) a href="https://twitter.com/atptour/status/1828204868223533358?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"August 26, 2024/a/blockquote script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"/script

p The two-time a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a quarter-finalist Schwartzman had already summoned one final hurrah in New York by coming through qualifying last week to secure his 11th consecutive main-draw appearance. Monfils proved too strong in Monday’s first-round clash, however, ultimately prevailing 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. Even in defeat, Schwartzman was happy to add some more cherished New York memories before bringing his career to a close. /p

p “[These are] special moments, like you saw before on the screen,” said Schwartzman, referring to a montage video played on court after the match. “Once again, playing here, 11 times in a row. Playing in a Grand Slam, at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a. /p

p “I did great, but I think [also] the entire crowd, today and in the years before, all the Latin American people, all the American people here. I don’t know why they take care of me so well every year, and I’m not sure if I deserve it or not, but I’m really grateful for all the years I have been here.” /p

p/p

p Schwartzman is not done yet as a competitor on the ATP Tour. The 32-year-old has said he intends to retire next February at home in Argentina. /p

p [NEWSLETTER FORM] /p