Iga Swiatek revealed Rafael Nadal as soon as gifted her with a observe session for birthday and likewise advised a narrative about how the Spaniard reacted after one among his French Open losses
The 23-year-old, who’s already a four-time French Open winner, grew up idolizing the Spanish tennis icon. And shortly after turning professional and changing into a Main champion at Roland Garros in 2020, the Pole additionally noticed one other one among her goals come true after assembly her favourite participant.
“So I keep in mind we practiced in Roland Garros as soon as. That was really like a present for my birthday. So we hit for like quarter-hour and I spotted that he’s actually all the way down to earth and humble. That was the primary time I talked to him so it was particular,” Swiatek said on Tennis Channel.
Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal© Instagram
Swiatek: I cried because of Nadal’s loss, but he was calm…
In 2021, the Spaniard suffered his third French Open defeat after Novak Djokovic ousted him in the semifinal 3-6 6-3 7-6 (4) 6-2.
The Polish tennis star – who also didn’t manage to defend her title at Roland Garros that year – met Nadal shortly after his loss. And after asking him how he felt, Swiatek couldn’t believe how calm he was and how easily he accepted what happened.
“Then I remember in 2021, he lost the semifinals against Novak and I saw him, because we were all staying at the same hotel because of the COVID. I saw him somewhere in the hotel and I told him that I even cried when he lost. He was so calm and he said, ‘That’s just tennis and life goes on and there are gonna be different goals in the future,'” the 23-year-old stated.
In the identical interview, Swiatek famous the message she acquired that day caught to her and gave a blueprint on how she wanted to study to cope with losses.
In the meantime, Nadal’s profession formally got here to an finish on Tuesday after Spain’s defeat to Netherlands within the Davis Cup Finals quarterfinal.
