Argentina's Schwartzman retires from professional tennis

Argentina's Diego Schwartzman, a former world No 8, ended his professional tennis career on Thursday with a bruising defeat by Spain's Pedro Martinez in the second round of the Argentina Open.

Schwartzman, currently ranked 386th, pulled a surprise in the first round by beating 40th-ranked Nicolas Jarry of Chile in three sets, his first win in 16 months.

But on Thursday he was outclassed by 41st-ranked Martinez 6-2, 6-2, bringing the curtain down on the career of the Argentina player.

Schwartzman had previously announced that this would be his last tournament.

The 32-year-old, standing at just 1.70 metres and one of the shortest male players to feature in the sport, made the semifinals of the French Open in 2020, the same year he beat Rafael Nadal on clay at the Masters in Rome.

Over the course of his career he won four ATP titles, including Buenos Aires in 2021.