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Diego Schwartzman failed to enter the main draw at the 2023 Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, bowing out in the qualifying rounds.
Schwartzman did not get a direct entry into the main draw due to his low ranking of World No. 98. But he failed to win his second qualifying match, thus exiting the tournament prematurely.
This is the first time the Argentine has failed to qualify for the main draw of a Masters 1000-level tournament in seven years.
He reflected upon this grim milestone on Instagram, expressing his emotions on ending a 52-tournament streak that started in 2015. The 30-year-old said he felt a "mixture of sadness and happiness" and thanked everyone who helped him achieve his dreams.
"7 years... 52 masters 1000 playing the main draw in a row. Today I cut that streak, a mixture of sadness and happiness of having achieved things in these years that I never imagined. Thanks to all and each one of those who brought me here as a kid and all of you on the other side who always bench and is the nicest thing of the sport, to reach so many people and when I do it right enjoy watching me play. This keeps going! Let's go let's go," he wrote.
Diego Schwartzman won his first qualifying-round match in Cincinnati against No. 13 seed Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-4. However, he was bettered by Alexander Shevchenko of Russia in the second round, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, on August 13.
The Argentine had to rely on qualifiers in his last Masters 1000 tournament, the Canadian Open, too. In Toronto, he defeated Liam Draxl of Canada and Alexander Vukic of Australia in the qualifying matches before losing to eventual semifinalist Tommy Paul in the first round of the main draw.
The former French Open semifinalist made his Masters 1000 debut at the 2015 Indian Wells Open, where he won his first-round match against Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3). Eventual finalist and No. 2 seed Roger Federer stopped Schwartzman's run in the second round, winning 6-4, 6-2.
Diego Schwartzman's best performance at Masters 1000 level came at Italian Open 2020
Diego Schwartzman achieved his best showing at a Masters 1000 competition at the 2020 Italian Open, where he was a finalist. Schwartzman was seeded No. 8 in Rome that year, and he dazzled the fans with his claycourt prowess to enter his maiden final at the Masters 1000 level.
The diminutive Argentine received a bye in the first round. He went on to better John Millman in the second round, Hubert Hurkacz in the third round, No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, and No. 12 seed Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals. His run came to an end at the hands of top seed Novak Djokovic in the final, 7-5, 6-3.
However, 2023 has been a very different story for Schwartzman. He has fallen from being World No. 25 at the start of the year to his current ranking of World No. 98, even briefly falling out of the top 100 in June.
Diego Schwartzman's best performance this year has been reaching the third round at the French Open (losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas).
