Iga Swiatek: "That's why I admire Rafael Nadal so much"

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Champion of Roland Garros 2020, the 20-year-old Iga Swiatek won this year in Adelaide and at the Italian Open in Rome, entering for the first time in the WTA world top 10 until reaching the 4th position of the ranking, which she still occupies today.

Also present at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, Iga clearly defeated Mona Barthel before being stopped by the Spanish Paula Badosa with a score of 6-3 7-6. At the Roland Garros in Paris, where she defended the success of the previous season, the Warsaw star had the better of Kaja Juvan, Rebecca Peterson, Anett Kontaveit and Marta Kostyuk before being beaten by the Greek Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals.

Swiatek: "That's why I admire Nadal so much"

Huge fan of former world number one Rafael Nadal, Iga returned to talk about him in a recent intervention at Cross Court, as also revealed by the site We Love Tennis. She said: "It's not just about the way to play, because clearly I love the its lift and the way it competes on clay, which is also my favorite surface.

When I was younger I have to admit that I wanted to be like him, but I knew it was a bit impossible because he is much stronger. Besides, I also want to emphasize that I like his attitude and the way he behaves off the pitch, because he tries to be a good example for others." Appearing for the last time on the hard courts in Washington, Nadal announced that he had undergone a surgical operation and would miss the rest of the season.

The Majorcan triumphed this year in Barcelona and Rome, where he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic respectively. The Spanish champion could come back on the court for the beginning of the new season, maybe with Roger Federer at the Australian Open 2022.

Swiatek is currently the only Polish player to have won a Grand Slam trophy: her compatriot Agniezka Radwanska had made it all the way to the Wimbledon final. A few hours ago the Indian Wells appointment began, after the cancellation of 2020 due to Covid.