The influence of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic on the upcoming pool of tennis players is huge. Iga Swiatek, who stunned the world by winning the French Open last year, is a huge fan of Nadal.

The young Polish player got the opportunity to meet Nadal for the first time at the Madrid Masters this year. A month later, at the French Open, the former World No.1 invited Swiatek for a practice session with him.

Iga Swiatek talks about the huge influence of Rafael Nadal during her childhood

In the latest episode of Crosscourt that featured Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek, the latter talked in depth about her admiration towards Rafa Nadal.

Crosscourt is the official interaction series between the ATP and WTA tours as they decided to make a digital web show involving players from both the tours. The series featured the likes of Dominic Thiem, Elina Svitolina, Madison Keys, Gael Monfils, amongst other players.

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Coming back to the one featuring Swiatek, Hurkacz asked his compatriot about which aspect of Nadal’s game that she would like to implement.

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“Basically, it’s not only about the game. Of course, I love his top-spin and just how he plays on clay. Clay is also my favorite surface. So, when I was younger, I just wanted to be like him. But I knew it’s kind of impossible because he’s much more stronger”, Swiatek explained.

The 2020 French Open winner also mentioned Nadal’s off-court attitude as an example for her to consider him as a role-model.

“I also like his attitude and how he behaves off-court. Actually, I saw on ATP Instagram, he met his fan, the older lady (Manuela at Madrid Masters), and it was really, really cool. He’s just trying to be a good example for other people,” continued the Pole.

Swiatek aims to qualify for the WTA Finals in Guadalajara

Talking at the pre-tournament press conference at Indian Wells, the Pole expressed her desire to qualify for the WTA finals in Guadalajara this year.

“I’m pretty happy to have still energies and motivation. This is my first full season on tour and with Olympics we never had a break. I never thought about playing Finals, but I hope too qualify because it will be great”, Swiatek told.

Iga Swiatek will face Petra Martic in the second-round of BNP Paribas Open. She is also pairing up with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to play doubles.

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