Bowing to Rafael Nadal for the second year in a row at Roland Garros gave Diego Schwartzman an interesting idea.
If you can't beat him, avoid him.

Diego Schwartzman snapped Rafael Nadal's streak of 36 straight sets at Roland Garros before the king of clay answered with a commanding nine-game run to close a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory racing into his record-extending 14th Roland Garros semifinal.

More: Nadal Subdues Schwartzman

It's the second year in a row 13-time French Open champion Nadal has stopped Schwartzman in Paris following his semifinal sweep last October. That came after Nadal's four-set 2018 quarterfinal victory over the Buenos Aires-born baseliner.

Given Nadal's 105-2 career record in Paris, Schwartzman has a simple solution for navigating the 35-year-old Spaniard in the future: hope to play world No. 1 Novak Djokovic rather than Nadal.

"I did great tournaments here in Paris, but always losing against Rafa the last few years," Schwartzman said. "In semifinal, two times quarters.

"I want to play maybe Nole next time, but no Rafa. Is difficult. I did great matches. Always close the last few matches. But at the end he's winning, so nothing."

Last fall, Schwartzman surprised Nadal scoring a 6-2, 7-5 victory in the Rome quarterfinals.

Though the 5'7" Argentinean tested the king of clay today, Schwartzman said once Rafa becomes Rafa, he commands Court Philippe Chatrier.

"He feel like he's doing everything to put you two, three meters behind the line. The court is really big and you start to play difficult games and difficult matches against him," Schwartzman said. "The last three times we played here in Chatrier, two times we went to the fourth, and last year I was very close to go to the fourth, as well.

"You know, at the end is very difficult. I had the chances today maybe in the third. I was close. I was playing a little bit better than him. At the end he's Rafa and he's always finding the way."

Photo credit: Roland Garros Facebook

The Slovenian is on the rise, and leading the way for her country of just over two million people. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday May 19, 2021

Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek has been enjoying a Cinderella run at Roland Garros. At 85 in the world, she’s parlayed a trio of three-set wins to a run of a lifetime. The 23-year-old, who has a strong interest in psychology, has suddenly become a mental coach for two million Slovenians, says her coach Marjan Cuk.

She wants to be a psychotherapist, mental coach,” her coach told reporters on Wednesday.

Cuk said that he and the rest of Zidansek’s team approached her and told her that she can be a big inspiration for her country this week in Paris.

“Look, you are studying this [subject], but now you can be a mental coach for whole Slovenia,” Cuk said. “If you go to the court and you show the strength and you show the people that I'm here to fight, they will follow you. So you are a mental coach for two million people in Slovenia.

“That was our way, no? She was looking and said, Wow, this is the thing. Yes, now I understand a bigger picture, not just small one.”

Quote of the day courtesy of Marjan Cuk, coach to Tamara Zidansek.

On the team’s positive, fun vibes:

"We enjoy every moment of life. Why not? We are not turtles that we live 220 years. Let's enjoy it, c’mon.” #RG21 pic.twitter.com/AC7fLy5wbv

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) June 9, 2021

Zidansek took out No.6 seed Bianca Andreescu in her first match and has been off to the races from there.

She will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals, and could become the lowest-ranked finalist in Roland-Garros history if she wins.

“Winning the first round was a big breakthrough for me,” she said. “I got a lot of confidence from that.” Zidansek is a remarkable story in Paris. In her first eight Grand Slam main draw appearances she had never been past round two.

Her exceptional forehand has driven her success. She cracked 34 forehand winners in her quarter-final win over Badosa, and has struck 109 forehand winners overall.

Her coach agrees that the forehand is big, but he warned that Zidansek is not a one-trick pony.

“Everyone is talking about her forehand,” he said. “I agree, this is really big weapon. But my opinion as a coach is that she have five pistols always, so she can play forehand, we improved a lot backhand, she can do a dropshot, sometime she go to the net. Variety of the serve is also quite much better than it was.”