Iga Swiatek commented on whether she is as dominant as Rafael Nadal was on clay.
The Pole has been in control of the WTA tour since she reached the top of the rankings following Ash Barty’s shock retirement in 2022.
Though the 22-year-old has achieved success on hard courts, it’s her exploits on clay that stand out.
She already has three Roland Garros titles under her belt and is going for a fourth at the ongoing edition of the Grand Slam.
Her dominance is such that she is already being compared to the greatest clay court player of all time, Rafael Nadal.
Iga Swiatek disagrees with the comparisons to Rafael Nadal
Nadal’s 14 French Open titles is the most for any player at a single Grand Slam. He has also won 10 or more titles at the Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome events.
Though Swiatek is on her way to becoming one of the best clay court players in history, she does not want to be named in the same bracket as Nadal.
“I think it’s too early. I’m really proud of my achievements, it’s always been my favourite surface for me, it gives me the most pleasure, she said. “Being compared to him, I’m not at that level yet, I still have many things to improve.
“He’s a great person, he’s a great athlete, he’s shown that for many, many years and I’m just at the beginning. I’ll do my best to take some lessons from him to be a good person and a good player.”
Iga Swiatek praises Rafael Nadal after watching his French Open match
Swiatek was among some famous names on court Philippe-Chatrier watching Nadal take on Alexander Zverev in round one.
She watched her hero take to the court at the Grand Slam for possibly the final time as he suffered a 3-6, 6-7, 3-6 defeat to the German.
After defeating Leolia Jeanjean 6-1 6-2 on Monday, Swiatek commented on what it is about Nadal that inspires her.
“He [Nadal] taught me that always fighting till the end and not giving up is the best way to go,” she explained to reporters.
“It just increases your chances that you might win. There’s no point in working hard and giving everything to play well rather than to give up at the end.
“He managed to turn around some matches that it seemed impossible to turn around. That really inspired me. But also how he is off the court; he’s really humble and really focused on the work. It seems that success didn’t change him. I just like the person he is overall.”
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