He has been discussed before, but it is time that the tennis world get to know 22-year-old Diego Sebastian Schwartzman more thoroughly. Schwartzman consistently made his way up the rankings through the Challenger Tour these past few years. He began 2012 barely inside the top 400 and is now ranked a career-high No. 61 in the world.

Schwartzman built his ranking almost entirely on the Challenger Tour this past year. He won five tournaments and reached the finals of another two. He also won a match at Roland Garros for his first career Grand Slam Main Draw win.
 
Schwartzman probably received some notice from casual fans this year because both of his Grand Slam losses came against top players. He acquitted himself well against Roger Federer in the second round of Roland Garros, although Federer never really seemed in danger. His scoreline against Novak Djokovic at the US Open was much more lopsided, but it was probably the most impressive match Schwartzmann has ever played. He went toe-to-toe with Djokovic in many baseline rallies. He didn't win too many of them (let's be honest, not many do against Djokovic) but he was impressive and pulled off a few highlight-reel shots. He obviously needs a lot more experience before he can compete with top players on the biggest stages, but he will get there eventually.
 
His most impressive tournament, though, was probably the Challenger Tour Finals a few weeks ago. He bounced back from a round-robin loss to Blaz Rola by winning the tournament, including an impressive straight-sets semifinal win over Simone Bolelli. Some of his other good runs at Challengers in the past haven't involved wins over higher-ranked Challenger players. In Sao Paolo, however, he beat three top-100 players in addition to rising Brazilian Guilherme Clezar in the final.
 
Now, though, will come the big test for Schwartzmnn. It is clear that he has moved past the Challenger Tour. Five titles in a year is certainly enough for someone to move up to compete on the main tour. He also has the talent to compete on the main tour. He packs a lot of deceptive power into his undersized body and has a good court sense that will only get better with experience. How he adjusts to the transition to the main tour will be what determines the course of his career, as is true for so many players. A good run at the Australian Open will be a great place to start. Of course, not drawing Federer or Djokovic would help.