Diego Schwartzman competed in the era of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, so he knows a thing or two about the Big Three’s characters.

The recently retired Argentine player played 22 matches against Messrs Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, but managed only one win with that coming on the red dirt against King of Clay Nadal at the 2020 Italian Open.

He finished his head-to-head career against the three legends with a 0-7 win-loss record against Djokovic, 1-11 against Nadal and 0-4 against Federer.

Now that he is happily retired, the diminutive Schwartzman was asked who commanded the most on court and he went for 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal.

“I think Rafa, of the three, is the one who commands the most respect when you enter the court. It’s like you enter the court a little more defeated,” he told ESPN.

After beating Nadal in two sets in the quarter-final in Rome in 2020, Schwartzman went on to reach the final before losing in straight sets in the final against Djokovic.

That was his only ATP Masters 1000 final while he reached the semi-final of the French Open a few weeks later before losing in three sets against Nadal.

Djokovic has also stated in the past that Nadal was the most intimidating and made you feel like you were beaten before the match had even started.

“The most intimidating? That’s him. It was him, for sure. Roger also had this huge aura, of course,” the 24-time Grand Slam winner told GQ Magazine.

“And before you were playing him, you felt it. But he did it more gracefully, I guess, you know? But, I mean Nadal, because we all share locker rooms, so you see the players warming up and so forth.”

Having slipped down the rankings in recent years, Schwartzman played his final tournament on home soil at the Argentina Open in February this year, and after upsetting seventh seed Nicolas Jarry in the opening round, his tennis journey came to an end in the second round when he lost against Pedro Martínez.

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And the who’s who of tennis paid tribute, including both Nadal and Djokovic.

“Congratulations @dieschwartzman on your great career!” the Spaniard wrote. “You’ve been a great example of fighting and overcoming. I’m glad we’ve shared so many moments on the Tour. Enjoy your next steps!”

Schwartzman replied: “Rafa! Thank you for letting me share so many moments on and off the court. You are, were, and will be a legend forever. You taught tennis a lot, and thank you for once letting me beat you!”

Djokovic stated: “Friend, congratulations on an incredible race.”

Schwartzman bowed out with four ATP titles – with his biggest title the ATP 500 Rio Open in 2018 – he peaked at No 8 in the ATP Rankings and had a 251–226 win-loss record.