Diego Schwartzman has had the best year of his career in 2017. Pick and choose your milestones to celebrate: career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 25; his first Grand Slam quarter-final, at the US Open; and his third ATP World Tour final (Antwerp, l. to Tsonga).

In the midst of another possible run, this week at the Rolex Paris Masters, the 5’7” Argentine took time to talk with ATPWorldTour.com about what he bought to celebrate a big win at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the time he asked his good friend Rafael Nadal literally for the shirt off his back.

First pinch-me moment on the ATP World Tour
I think when I won my first [ATP] Challenger. It was in Buenos Aires. That moment was amazing for me, with my family. I didn’t expect that moment at that time. I was playing the Challengers but I had never made it past the quarter-finals. In Buenos Aires, it was my first Challenger final, and I won the Challenger. It was amazing for me. That moment I started to think, ‘OK, I am doing well and I can do it better’.

First time I was recognised
The first time was in Buenos Aires… But then I think the past two years around the world, I have improved my tennis a lot, I have improved my ranking and I think people know more about me… This year people recognise me a little bit more… Maybe one year and a half ago or two years ago now, I’d go to the tournament entrances and there would be one more person there. Now it’s a little bit different… I like, I like. I think it’s good it’s because you are doing well.

First thing I bought with prize money
I don’t remember what was the first thing, but I remember in 2015 Indian Wells, after I beat Jerzy Janowicz, 7-6 in the third set (in the first round). Before the match I said to my coach, ‘If I win this match I am going to buy a computer and headphones’. And I won 7-6 in the third and the next day I went to the store and bought the computer and headphones… Beats headphones, black, the big ones and a Macbook Air.

Read More: Schwartzman Wins ATP Challenger Tour Finals

First autograph/photo I got
Football players, always. Ha, ha. I ask football players to take a picture with me. I love football. I watch football every day… Here in tennis, I am a little bit scared to ask for a photo… If I have confidence, I ask Sock, Ferrer, Nadal, Federer. I am always trying to take a picture with them but it’s not easy to ask… Ferrer I took photos with this year and I put on my Instagram. Rafa after Monte-Carlo in the quarter-finals this year I asked for the shirt he wore during the match and for him to sign the shirt, and I have it in my room, his shirt on the wall… He was playing with a pink shirt and I asked after our match, I have confidence with him… We have a good relationship, same language, friends in common… [I asked] in the locker rooms.

First pet
Lole, she was black and white, a Cocker Spaniel. That was a few years ago. Now we have one from the street. We were in the street with Lole, and this new one, a small one, came to us and we took it and it’s in our home now… The new one is Peque. It’s like me. My nickname, it’s Peque. In Argentina, everyone calls me Peque. It’s like little or small one, and I named the dog Peque.

When I am at home, Peque comes to me at night in the bed, sleeps with me. We are always joking at home with the dog. My parents had a dog at home and I also like to have that company. It’s nice.

Diminutive Argentine Diego Schwartzman recorded his 39th match win of a career-best season with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Viktor Troicki of Serbia on Tuesday to book his place in the Rolex Paris Masters second round. Currently No. 26 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, Schwartzman has a mathematical chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November, but his participation would also depend on other results. He will next face ninth-seeded American John Isner.

France’s Adrian Mannarino knocked out 2012 champion David Ferrer of Spain 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 32 minutes. Mannarino will next look to avenge his loss to David Goffin in the recent Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2017 final. Goffin is next in line to qualify for the season finale, at No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

Spain’s Feliciano Lopez saved three of four break points to earn a gritty 7-6(4), 6-3 win over wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert for a second-round encounter against another Frenchman, No. 17 seed Lucas Pouille, who won his fourth ATP World Tour title on Sunday at the Erste Bank Open 500 (d. Tsonga).

There were mixed results in the French capital for three players — Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov and Borna Coric — who will compete at next month’s inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, from 7-11 November.

Spain’s Fernando Verdasco came through a hard-court 7-6(1), 7-6(6) victory over Rublev in one hour and 50 minutes. Verdasco saved one set point at 4-5, 30/40 in the first set and converted his fifth match point in the second set. Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas got the better of Khachanov 6-4, 6-2, but Coric hit 10 aces to defeat fellow qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 6-3, 6-4.

London Doubles Contenders Win Openers
Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, who need to win the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 doubles title in Paris in order to stand a chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, got off to a winning start with a 6-2, 7-6(7) victory over Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas in 77 minutes. They will next face French fourth seeds and last year’s finalists Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the second round.

 Watch Live On TennisTV

 Watch Full Match Replays

With two spots remaining at the Nitto ATP Finals, Pablo Carreno Busta and Sam Querrey begin their final campaign for qualification on Tuesday in Paris. Carreno Busta, who currently occupies the last London spot, faces French wild card Nicolas Mahut in one of three second-round matches. The Spaniard broke into the Top 8 of the Emirates ATP Race to London after defeating a record four qualifiers en route to the US Open semi-finals, one of whom was the 35-year-old Mahut.

Also in second-round action, Querrey meets Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic. If Querrey and Carreno Busta both win on Tuesday, they will meet in the third round with the Spaniard’s Race position on the line. If Querrey wins and Carreno Busta loses on Tuesday, they will be tied with 2,615 points. Carreno Busta owns the tiebreaker because he has earned more points than Querrey at Grand Slams and mandatory ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups for Day 2  and vote for who you think will win!
Mahut vs. Carreno Busta | Cuevas vs. Khachanov | Verdasco vs. Rublev

Nitto ATP Finals qualifier Dominic Thiem plays in the other second-round match against German lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk. Thiem is ranked a career-high No. 6, but he has yet to reach a semi-final off of clay courts this season. The Austrian has struggled throughout his career during the fall. Thiem is 12-20 lifetime in October and November with one quarter-final and no semi-final finishes.

The last eight matches of the first round are also on Tuesday’s schedule, including a pair of France vs. Spain showdowns. French wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert faces Feliciano Lopez, who beat him 7-6(3), 6-4 in the 2016 Rolex Paris Masters first round. Then, Adrian Mannarino looks to end his sensational season on a high note against David Ferrer. Mannarino has earned 24 of his career-high 32 wins this year since June 25, when he began his run to the inaugural Antalya final.