The ongoing Madrid Open has been an eventful tournament, both on and off the court. However, the one thing that stood out was Rafael Nadal’s kind gesture after his match against Pedro Cachin. In what was a fanboy moment, the latter asked for Nadal’s t-shirt as a souvenir from that match. The Spanish legend gleefully presented his jersey to Cachin and won several hearts. As this moment was revisited later, a tennis journalist questioned Iga Swiatek about the same.

The journalist, Reem Abulleil wondered if Swiatek would ever be tempted to keep a memory from a match in the post-game presser. This didn’t go down well with the World Number 1, who is a die-hard Rafa fan. She replied in a tone some might perceive as sarcastic, “If I’d play against Rafa, for sure I would ask for a t-shirt.” Although Swiatek said it all with a laugh, might we detect a defending tone?

It all started after Nadal defeated Cachin in the round of 32 clash following which Cachin asked for a souvenir from the Spaniard. However, soon after, a British commentator, David Law, tweeted, “asking for your opponent’s shirt at the net ain’t it.” This didn’t go down well with the fans, who bashed the commentator for criticizing Cachin’s act.

However, Iga Swiatek came to the youngster’s rescue and hit back at trolls calling out his act. Swiatek is also a big fan of Nadal and revealed that she might have done the same thing as Cachin did if she played against Nadal.

Meanwhile, Nadal is in the news as there are rumors that the ongoing Madrid Open might be his last tournament on home soil before he retires. Amid this, Swiatek gave her opinion about Nadal’s longevity on the tour.

Iga Swiatek analyzes Rafael Nadal’s future in the sport

During an interview at the tournament, Swiatek was asked what she felt about Nadal’s future in tennis. Replying to this, she said, “I don’t want to talk about whether this will be Nadal’s last game or tournament because it’s his decision, and it’s being hard for him. It’s very professional. But I don’t know how my brain would respond to knowing that I’m playing my last game.”

Further, she also added, “I just want people to take it calmly and let him do it his way. People expect him to do something spectacular, but, honestly, Rafa has to take care of himself, and I hope he does.” 

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While Swiatek has reached the Madrid Open semifinals, Nadal will play his pre-quarterfinal match against Jiri Lehecka later today. Can the duo dig deep and win the title in Madrid? Let us know your views in the comments below.