Getty Rafael Nadal and Diego Schwartzman after the latter's victory in the 2020 Italian Open final.
Rafael Nadal’s quest for a 13th French Open title continues on Friday, when he takes on Diego Schwartzman in the semifinals.
In the United States, the match starts at 8:50 a.m. ET (5:50 a.m. PT) and will be televised on the Tennis Channel. But if you don’t have cable, here’s how to watch Nadal vs Schwartzman streaming live online for free:
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FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of the Tennis Channel and 130-plus other TV channels on FuboTV. You’ll need both the main channel package and the Sports Plus add-on, both of which can be included in your seven-day free trial right here:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Nadal vs Schwartzman live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to re-watch the match within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of the Tennis Channel and 55-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s Sling Blue plus Sports Extra bundle. It comes with a free three-day trial, but if you bypass that, you can get $10 off the first month, and get Showtime, Starz, and Epix included for free:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Nadal vs Schwartzman live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 10 hours of cloud DVR.
YouTube TV
You can watch a live stream of the Tennis Channel and 80-plus other TV channels on YouTube TV:
Once signed up for YouTube TV, you can watch Nadal vs Schwartzman live on the YouTube app, which is available on your your Roku, Roku TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. You can also watch on your computer via TV.YouTube.com.
If you can’t watch live, it comes with included DVR.
Nadal vs Schwartzman Preview
Nadal reached the semifinals with a 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-1 victory over Jannik Sinner, a 19-year-old Italian. The Spaniard claimed 6 of 8 break points in a match that ended at 1:30 on Wednesday morning.
“No doubt that this is the most important place for me and the most beautiful place to play,” Nadal said after the victory, according to the ATP website. “[I’m] just very, very happy.”
Sinner, who had never advanced past the second round of a major, became the first French Open debutant to reach the quarters since Nadal achieved the feat en route to the title in 2005.
“Sinner is a very, very young talent with a lot of power, great shots,” Nadal said, per the ATP site.
He added: “The conditions here were a little bit difficult because he was hitting every ball very hard. For me it was difficult to pull him out of position. I think in the third set I did much better and I finished playing much more aggressive. That was the only way.”
Earlier that day, Schwartzman eliminated the man who fell to Nadal in each of the last two French Open finals, besting Dominic Thiem 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-2. He took the match’s last four games.
Two weeks earlier, the 28-year-old Argentine upset Nadal in the Italian Open final, quashing Nadal’s bid for a 10th title in Rome.
“Today he played an amazing match against one of the best players of the world, without a doubt, especially on this surface,” Nadal said of Schwartzman after the quarters, per the ATP site. “He’s coming with big confidence. He’s in the final in Rome, he’s in the semi-finals here. He beat me there. It’s a plus of confidence for him. I know that. I’m going to try to go on court, play my best, try to play my game, play aggressive, try to do something a little bit different than what I did in Rome, of course.”
Schwartzman entered Tuesday winless across three major quarterfinals. He made it that far at Roland Garros in 2018 and in the 2017 and 2019 US Opens.
“I was just so nervous,” Schwartzman said, according to ESPN. “I saw the chance today.”
He’ll look to become the third player to oust Nadal from the French Open — Robin Soderling upset him in the fourth round in 2009, and Novak Djokovic bested him in the 2015 quarters; both players would fall in the final.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to have a lot of confidence,” Schwartzman said, per ESPN, “but, yeah, I know … that I can beat him. That’s important.”