"That was actually a gift for my birthday" - Iga Swiatek discloses her impression of Rafael Nadal after meeting him for the first time

Iga Swiatek recently talked about her impression of Rafael Nadal after meeting him for the first time. She revealed that she had the opportunity to meet the Spanish tennis legend for the first time on her birthday.

Both Swiatek and Nadal are currently in Malaga, Spain, representing their countries at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals and the Davis Cup Finals, respectively.

While Swiatek has already started her campaign at the tournament, helping Poland secure a spot in the semifinals for the first time by defeating Spain and the Czech Republic, the Spaniard is yet to begin his journey at the Davis Cup Finals.

Recently, while speaking to Tennis Channel, Iga Swiatek recalled her first meeting with Rafael Nadal. She mentioned that it was her birthday and they spent 15 minutes hitting on the court at Roland Garros. She stated that after their meeting, she realized that the Spaniard was very "humble" and "down-to-earth."

“So I remember we practiced in Roland Garros once. That was actually like a gift for my birthday. So we hit for like 15 minutes and I realised that he’s really down to earth and humble. That was the first time I talked to him so it was special,” Swiatek said.

Swiatek also recalled a conversation she had with Nadal after his loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2021 French Open. She said that the 38-year-old had shared that winning and losing are part of tennis and that it was important to move forward in life regardless of the outcome.

“Then I remember in 2021 he lost the semi-finals against Novak [Djokovic] and I saw him, because we were all staying at the same hotel because of the COVID. I saw him somewhere in the hotel and I told him that I even cried when he lost. He was so calm and he said, ‘That's just tennis and life goes on and there are gonna be different goals in the future,’” she added.

Iga Swiatek expressed that she was impressed by Rafael Nadal's composure after his defeat in his “favorite tournaments.”

“So I was like, ‘Wow, this person really knows how to deal with losing, even your favourite tournament.’ I realised that off the court you also need to learn on how to deal with stuff to be a better player on the court,” Iga Swiatek said.

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Iga Swiatek on facing Rafael Nadal on the practice courts: “It was tough for sure”

Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadl practicing at the 2021 French Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

In the aforementioned interview, Iga Swiatek also talked about her experience of practicing with Rafael Nadal. She expressed that Nadal was not performing to his full potential during their practice sessions, which allowed her to actually play.

Swiatek revealed that what challenged her most during their practice session was running to reach the balls.

“Honestly down the middle I don’t think he was playing 100% it was fine I could actually make it. But when I was supposed to run, it was impossible, like the top spin made it go even further from me so it was tough for sure,” Iga Swiatek said.

Looking ahead, Iga Swiatek will be aiming to help Poland defeat Italy in the semifinals of the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals to advance to the final round. If successful, they will compete against either Great Britain or Slovakia.

On the other hand, Rafael Nadal is set to represent Spain in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, where they will face the Netherlands. The winner of this match will then compete against either Germany or Canada in the semifinals.

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