“It’s a tough draw for Rafa, but I’m going to be rooting for him,” Iga Swiatek on Rafael Nadal facing Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros

Swiatek knows who she is supporting in the men's field.

“It’s a tough draw for Rafa, but I’m going to be rooting for him,” Iga Swiatek on Rafael Nadal facing Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros

L-Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev, R- Iga Swiatek (Via Imago)

World No.1 Iga Swiatek will be supporting 14-time champion Rafael Nadal in the first round of this year’s French Open. The duo, Nadal and Alexander Zverev will play in a repeat of the 2022 Roland Garros semi-final, which the Spaniard won after the current World No. 4 suffered a devastating foot injury.

Swiatek has never hidden the fact that she is a fan of the men’s field and has been particularly inspired by Nadal throughout her career. His first-round match against Zverev will take place on Sunday, May 26th.

YouTube video
Rafa's draw… I don't know. I don't know that much about Zverev's tennis to know how this match might look like. I mean, he's a great player… I don’t know if he's going to be rusty or not. It's the first round so you never know. l'm not an expert.
Iga Swiatek said in the Roland Garros pre-tournament press conference

Nadal made a last-minute decision to play this year’s French Open after his straight-set loss against Hubert Hurkacz in the Rome Masters. The 22-time Slam champion had hinted at his participation in Paris but is now back on his favorite court.

FS Video
We'll see. I'm going to watch it more from a fan perspective than to analyze. So I just hope it's going to be entertaining. For sure it's a tough draw for Rafa, but I'm going to be kind of rooting for him. Sorry, Alex. We'll see.
Iga Swiatek added

On the other hand, Swiatek couldn’t have come to Roland Garros with better preparation. The Polish star has won the last two Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Rome, beating Aryna Sabalenka in both finals. She will also start her French Open defense on Sunday against qualifier Leolia Jeanjean.

Analyzing Rafael Nadal’s draw at Roland Garros

14-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal will bid farewell to his favorite tournament this year. The tournament organizers offered the Spaniard a wildcard after he made a last-minute decision to play.

Rafael Nadal training
Rafael Nadal in training (Via Imago)

Nadal is projected to play World No. 4 Alexander Zverev in the first round, who won his second Rome Masters last week. If the ‘King of Clay’ manages to dethrone the two-time World Tour Finals champion, he might have an easy draw until the Round of 16, where he is projected to play 13th seed Holger Rune.

Alex de Minaur is also in Nadal’s draw, but the Australian cannot meet him until the quarter-finals as he is projected to play Daniil Medvedev in the Round of 16. de Minaur and Nadal have played twice so far this year, with the Australian winning in Barcelona before the Spaniard gained revenge in Madrid.

If Nadal manages to get past his draw, he is likely to face the biggest test of his comeback so far when he plays defending champion Novak Djokovic. The duo has played nine times at Roland Garros, with the Spaniard winning on seven occasions.

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