Iga Swiatek is a huge fan of Rafael Nadal, and she talked about him after winning her fifth Grand Slam trophy at the 2024 Roland Garros on Saturday.
The Polish player is the best player in the world right now, with a track record of dominating on clay. She's a nice parallel to her idol Nadal, whom she watched against Alexander Zverev in the first round of the 2024 Roland Garros.
Some two weeks later, Swiatek lifted her fourth Roland Garros trophy after beating Jasmine Paolini in the final. During a segment on the Tennis Channel with the trophy parked next to her, Swiatek mentioned Nadal and how much she's inspired by him both on and off the court.
She counts herself very lucky to have watched him at Roland Garros, and she also sympathises with what he has to go through when it comes to his retirement.
"Watching Rafa is always great. I love how he moves and plays. Obviously, he's not on the same level as he was a few years ago. He's really inspiring, even with everything he's dealing with, constantly being asked if this is the last year of his career."
Her fandom for Nadal has been well documented in the past because she talked frequently about it. In this latest interview, Swiatek called him her personal GOAT (greatest of all time).
"It must be pretty hard, but he's dealing with such a great ellegance. Yeah, he's a GOAT for me. If I didn't see him win some impossible matches then I probably wouldn't be here and maybe I would be gone after the 2nd round."
Like her idol, she never gives up, and that's why she bested Naomi Osaka in a match in which she had to save match points. Had she lost that match, she wouldn't have won the trophy in Paris. Even last year's final saw her comeback against Karolina Muchova, who led in the third set.
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