On a night that brought weather of biblical proportions to the US Open in New York City, Jewish tennis star Diego Schwartzman prevailed over his opponent Kevin Anderson. But that wasn’t the only highlight of his night.
Schwartzman’s Round 2 match began on Louis Armstrong Stadium at 7 p.m. — against Anderson, who is about a foot taller than Schwartzman, at 6-foot-8 — but it did not finish until 1:02 am, at the larger Arthur Ashe Stadium. The roof on Armstrong was no match for the storm, an offshoot of Hurricane Ida, that passed through the city on Wednesday night and brought dangerous floods. The match was suspended three times on Armstrong before the decision was made to move it to Ashe.
Tennis reporter José Morgado tweeted that during the rain break, Schwartzman told Ben Stiller he wanted to meet with him.
Schwartzman telling Ben Stiller he wants to meet with him during the rain break. eheh.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) September 2, 2021
The Jewish actor was in the stands at Armstrong to watch Schwartzman play, and had tweeted a video of the torrential rain pour on the grounds:
It’s great to be back watching tennis again. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/9a3JcoV8AQ
— Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen) September 2, 2021
Stiller, and his wife, actress Christine Taylor, stayed until the very end of the late-night match, moving from Armstrong to Ashe to cheer Schwartzman on.
IMPECABLE DIEGO!Como dijo Luis Alfredo, impecable partido de Diego Schwartzman venciendo a Kevin Anderson y al huracán Ida. Triunfo en sets corridos para el argentino que ahora va ante Alex Molčan en 3R del #USOpen. pic.twitter.com/BFoC5o546x
— Lautaro Miranda (@LuckyLoserArg) September 2, 2021
Ben Stiller is enjoying his late-night tennis. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/F6LwAsHB79
— Tennis GIFs (@tennis_gifs) September 2, 2021
Schwartzman’s girlfriend, Argentine model Eugenia De Martino, posted to her Instagram story after the match a photo of all of them meeting: “Ben and Christine came especially to watch Diego.”
Schwartzman, who is seeded 11 in the tournament, won in straight sets in a little over three hours of playing time. Last year, Schwartzman lost in a surprising upset in the first round, but in 2019 he made it to the quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.
“First of all thank you, everyone, for staying tonight, it’s been crazy weather. It was very difficult before the match,” Schwartzman said after his victory. “I am very happy and I was able to play my best tennis in the last two sets.”