WATCH: “She is a huge inspiration!” Rafael Nadal praises Iga Swiatek after playing Doubles with her at an exhibition event before US Open
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Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek during the exhibition match
Iga Swiatek is one of the best upcoming talents in women’s tennis and slowly paving her way at a very young age. She has already won six titles this year including becoming the singles champion at the French Open. She totally owned the season with her incredible performances but soon her long winning streak got broken at the 2022 Wimbledon Championship after her loss to Alize Cornet in the third round. Her 18-match winning streak on clay also got broken after her quarter-final loss at the Poland Open.
Post the clay season, she has been struggling to be consistent with her performances and also did not have great runs at the hard-court WTA events in Canada and Cincinnati that lead up to the US Open. She will be one of the favorites going into the tournament where she will be looking for her third singles Grand Slam title.
“We had some fun and it was for a good cause”Rafael Nadal on being paired with Iga Swiatek for an exhibition match
Iga Swiatek paired up with the 22-time singles Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal as doubles partner for an exhibition match ‘Tennis Plays for Peace ‘ which aimed at raising funds for the people of Ukraine affected by the war. Swiatek and Nadal played the match against Coco Gauff and tennis legend John McEnroe and it was a crowd-entertaining match where the Spaniard and Polish pair won the match playing some amazing shots. Swiatek has always idolized Nadal for being an inspiration to all and it will be a dream come true if she gets to play with him. Her dream was fulfilled at the charity event before the US Open.
After the match, the Spaniard legend, upon being asked about Swiatek’s play, heaped a lot of praises for the world’s number one WTA player and appreciated her calling as an inspiration for all. He said “It was great. Iga Swiatek, I think, is a huge inspiration for everyone, even for me with the way that she is very natural, very humble. It has been a pleasure to have her next to me on the court. We had some fun and it was for a very good cause, so happy to enjoy that moment,“
It will be interesting to see if Swiatek gets back to winning ways at the US Open and be able to win another title whereas Nadal will be aiming for his third title of the year and 23rd singles major title and taking the lead ahead as Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the US Open and Roger Federer‘s comeback in unknown.
Also Read: Rafael Nadal’s road to 23rd Grand Slam opens up after being handed an easy draw at the 2022 US Open
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)