Watch: Sebastian Korda beats Iga Swiatek in fun Rafael Nadal quiz
Sebastian Korda 'beat' women's World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in a fun quiz about their idol Rafael Nadal.
Both players, along with Nadal, are in Rome for the Italian Open this week. While Korda lost his tournament opener to Botic van de Zandschulp, Swiatek extended her winning streak to 24 matches with a straight-sets win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in her opener. Nadal, meanwhile, opened his account for a record-extending 11th title at the Foro Italico with a straight-sets win against John Isner.
In a segment for ATP Uncovered, both Korda and Swiatek were asked 11 questions about Nadal. While the American got all but two of them correct, Swiatek answered three questions incorrectly.
The fun segment started off with a question about Nadal's birthday, with both players correctly replying "June 3rd". Korda and Swiatek also made no mistake regarding the town the Spaniard was born in: Mallorca. However, both players faltered when asked about Nadal's full name, which happens to be Rafael Nadal Parera.
While Korda incorrectly stated that Nadal first started playing tennis at the age of three, Swiatek answered correctly: four. Both made no mistake with the football team that the Spaniard supports (Real Madrid) as Swiatek retained her lead at 4-3.
However, Korda got back on level terms with his next response. He correctly stated that Nadal's uncle Miguel Angel Nadal played for Barcelona. Swiatek, though, chose Atletico Madrid.
There was nothing separating the two in the next four rounds. Both correctly answered that Nadal turned pro in 2001 and won his first title in Poland (Sopot' 2004). Korda and Swiatek also didn't make a mistake when asked where Nadal first played Roger Federer (Miami 2004) and the first top-five player he beat (Carlos Moya).
However, Swiatek incorrectly answered the last question: Nadal's number of year-end No. 1 finishes. While the Pole said eight, Korda got it right with five, confirming his 'win'.
"I consider myself a Rafa fan," Korda stated after the quiz.
"If you had asked the same questions about Sandra Bullock or Taylor Smith, I would have answered much better," Swiatek lamented.
Rafael Nadal opens Rome campaign with win, sets up Denis Shapovalov clash
Rafael Nadal opened his 2022 Rome Masters campaign with a straightforward 6-3, 6-1 win over American John Isner on Wednesday.
After saving two break points at 3-3 in the first set, he dropped only one game in the remainder of the match to improve to 69-7 in the Italian capital. He'll next play Denis Shapovalov on Thursday for a place in the quarterfinals.
Rafael Nadal defeats John Isner at Italian Open to keep incredible clay court record alive #IBI22 | @yasminstefsyed
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Nadal leads the head-to-head against his fellow left-hander 4-1, but their last two meetings - the 2022 Australian Open and the 2021 Italian Open - went the distance. In their third-round match in Rome last year, Nadal saved two match points in the third set before eking out a win. He went on to defeat Novak Djokovic in the final.
His only loss against Shapovalov came in the third round of the Coupe Rogers in 2017 in their first meeting.