Diego ‘El Peque’ Schwartzman, 27, routed his Australian Open third-round opponent Dusan Lajovic of Serbia, in straight sets on Thurday, . He is set to face superstar Novak Djokovic, 32, in the round of 16 on Saturday.
Djokovic, also from Serbia, is ranked second in the world and has had an illustrious career, winning 77 career titles and 16 career grand slams—seven of which took place at the Australian Open. He is also the tournament’s defending champion.
Schwartzman and Djokovic have played three times, and Djokovic has never lost. The Argentine did, however, force a five-set match against the Serb in the 2014 French Open.
Schwartzman, however, has been on a tear in his first three matches of the Australian Open: he has yet to lose a set. Djokovic, on the other hand, dropped a set in his first-round matchup against Jan-Lennard Struff, 29, who is currently ranked 37 in the world.
If he defeats Djokovic, Schwartzman will reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam for only the fourth time. He would face either Marin Cilic, 31, of Croatia or Canadian Milos Raonic, 29.
Schwartzman has never advanced past the quarter-finals of a grand slam.
Guido Pella, 29, the lone other Argentine who made it to the third round, lost to Italian Fabio Fognini, 32, in straight sets.
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