Davis Cup Qualifiers 2022: Diego Schwartzman vs Tomas Machac preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (ARG) Diego Schwartzman vs (CZE) Tomas Machac.
Tournament: Davis Cup.
Date: 4 March 2022.
Round: Qualifying Round.
Venue: Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Category: ITF Tournament.
Surface: Outdoor Clay.
Live telecast: Argentina - TyC Sports | Czech Republic - Czech TV.
Diego Schwartzman vs Tomas Machac preview
Argentina's Diego Schwartzman will take on Czech Republic's Tomas Machac in the qualifying rounds of the 2022 Davis Cup on Friday.
Schwartzman started the year by winning two of his three ATP Cup matches. He was then upset in the second round of the Australian Open by Christopher O'Connell.
The World No. 14 found his footing during the South American clay swing. He reached the semifinals of the Cordoba Open. This was followed by consecutive final appearances at the Argentina Open and Rio Open, where he lost to Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz respectively. While he had a poor Australian swing, Schwartzman is in fine form heading into the Davis Cup this season with a win-loss record of 11-5.
Schwartzman has a win loss record of 6-6 while representing Argentina at the Davis Cup.
A lob winner from the Heavens 😮
A stunner from @dieschwartzman on the run...
@RioOpenOficial https://t.co/QzjjIR6Zf3
Tomas Machac is a young player on the rise. He has mainly plied his trade on the Challenger circuit, where he won his third title at the Traralagon International earlier this year. The 21-year-old also reached the second round of the Australian Open for the first time.
The young Czech upstart reached a career-high ranking of 115 in February. He made his Davis Cup debut last year and won both of his matches against higher-ranked opponents. He beat Richard Gasquet and Dan Evans in the round robin stage of the 2021 Davis Cup Finals.
Diego Schwartzman vs Tomas Machac head-to-head
Schwartzman leads the head-to-head against Machac 1-0, having won their solitary meeting 6-4, 7-5 in the second round of the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Diego Schwartzman vs Tomas Machac prediction
Schwartzman will be the favorite to win heading into this contest. After a slow start to the year, he has posted a string of good results over the last few weeks during the South American clay swing. The Argentina-Czech Republic tie is also set to be played on clay, giving the World No. 14 an added advantage.
Schwartzman is a versatile player who is comfortable defending and playing offensive tennis. He's an excellent returner, currently ranked third with respect to the percentage of return games won on the ATP tour this year. Machac will have to focus on serving very well. The tiniest of slip-ups from the Czech player could see him lose crucial points.
In last year's Davis Cup Finals, Machac did well to upset Gasquet and Evans. If he plays at a similar level, there's a possibility of him repeating that result against Schwartzman as well.
Schwartzman also had an uncharacteristic blip when he lost to unranked junior Daniil Ostapenkov in the Davis Cup last year. So it wouldn't be impossible for Machac to win against the World No. 14. However, to get the better of the Argentine on clay while he's playing so well is a tall order for anyone.
Prediction: Diego Schwartzman to win in straight sets.