“Don’t want to chase records,” Iga Swiatek reveals why she wants to be like Rafael Nadal, not Novak Djokovic
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Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal
Iga Swiatek has made no secret of her admiration for Rafael Nadal, and she reiterated her adoration in a recent interview with Eurosport France. The WTA World No. 1 also stated that she felt most at ease with Rafael Nadal’s attitude to the game while admitting that chasing records like Novak Djokovic would be too “suffocating” for her.
“I want to focus on my day-to-day work”- Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek said in an interview with Eurosport France that her emotions during the 2021 Roland Garros match between the duo were in stark contrast to how she felt after watching their 2020 duel. Swiatek recently defeated Emma Raducanu in the Stuttgart Open to book herself a semi-final match with Ludmilla Samsonova.
Two years ago, the Spaniard beat the Serb in the final in straight sets, even serving up a bagel in the first set to win his 20th Major. In the same year, the Pole won her first Grand Slam championship by winning the women’s singles in Paris without dropping a set. “Rafael Nadal has always been my idol. I have pretty sad memories of Roland Garros last year because I was crying when Rafa lost against Novak [Djokovic], ” She said.
During the interview, Iga Swiatek also stated that she felt most at ease with Rafael Nadal’s approach to the game. The World No. 1 was impressed by the Spaniard’s focus on “day-to-day” practice rather than records, and she added that it was the mentality that worked best for her as well. She also pointed out the differences in attitude to the game between the Spaniard and the Serb, while conceding that chasing records like Novak Djokovic would be too exhausting for her. “I see my career plan as] like Rafa [Nadal]. I feel closest to this approach. I want to focus on my day-to-day work,” Swiatek said. “It’s important, it’s the most clear situation for me. If I start thinking about records, or ‘I want to be the first in this, the first to do that, it’s not good for me.”
“I love breaking records”- Novak Djokovic
The year 2022 has been dismal for the Serb however the year 2021 says otherwise. That was the year when Djokovic kept breaking records after records. He was also on the verge of breaking the record of ‘Golden Slam’, which is held by none other than tennis legend Steffi Graf, but a straight-set loss to Daniil Medvedev at the US Open prevented him from doing so.
In a nutshell, his 2021 accomplishments are as follows: Novak Djokovic won the Paris Masters to continue his dominant year. He shattered Roger Federer’s record for most weeks as world No. 1 by clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking for a record seventh time, winning a record 37 Masters titles, and clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking for a record seventh time. Following these exploits, the Serb made it clear in an interview with Eurosport that his career ambitions are majors, winning silverware for Serbia, and breaking as many records as possible.
In his words, “I have always been honest enough to say that the history of our sport is too big a motivation. It is an objective, yes, to prove that I can break all the records with all the results that I can obtain on the tour professionally. So, yes, I love breaking records. I’m very motivated to carry on. My priority is the Grand Slams and Masters 1000 where you can gain the largest number of points. This is an added benefit of our sport”.
In view of this, While Swiatek admitted that she understood other players’ approaches like Novak Djokovic openly declaring that he wanted to break records, she was of the opinion that it would be too suffocating for her in the long run. “I don’t want to be like I’m always chasing something. So focus on the day-by-day, the next match. It helps me to stay calm. Don’t waste energy on other stuff,” Swiatek said. “But everyone is different so I can also understand Novak [Djokovic’s] way [of openly declaring which records he wants to break].”
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