Desperately in need of a win, the 28-year-old was happy to finally be shown some love from the draw gods in Paris. Lu, Schwartzman’s first-round opponent, entered Roland-Garros with an ATP ranking of 679 and a lifetime record of 2-9 in Paris.
Make that 2-10, much to Schwartzman’s delight.
“I think I had a little bit of luck at this time in the draw,” he said of facing Lu on Court 7 on Tuesday. “It was a good start for me, and I took the chance and I'm in the second round.”
Asked what he felt was missing from his game this spring on the clay, Schwartzman quickly pointed out a simple goal: he wants to hit his targets more consistently. The Buenos Aires native managed the task well on Tuesday against Lu, cracking 30 winners against just 10 unforced errors over the course of his 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 triumph.
“I think it was a step forward today doing just 10 unforced errors in three sets,” he said. “For me it is very important not to make many mistakes, serving a little bit better than the matches before. I think when I'm trying to be aggressive and I'm not making many mistakes, that's the important thing that I have to keep in my mind from today.”