Iga Swiatek revealed Rafael Nadal once gifted her with a practice session for birthday and also told a story about how the Spaniard reacted after one of his French Open losses
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The 23-year-old, who is already a four-time French Open winner, grew up idolizing the Spanish tennis icon. And shortly after turning pro and becoming a Major champion at Roland Garros in 2020, the Pole also saw another one of her dreams come true after meeting her favorite player.
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 realized that hes really down to earth and humble. That was the first time I talked to him so it was special," Swiatek said on Tennis Channel.
Swiatek: I cried because of Nadal's loss, but he was calm...
In 2021, the Spaniard suffered his third French Open defeat after Novak Djokovic ousted him in the semifinal 3-6 6-3 7-6 (4) 6-2.
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The Polish tennis star - who also didn't manage to defend her title at Roland Garros that year - met Nadal shortly after his loss. And after asking him how he felt, Swiatek couldn't believe how calm he was and how easily he accepted what happened.
Then I remember in 2021, he lost the semifinals against Novak 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, Thats just tennis and life goes on and there are gonna be different goals in the future,'" the 23-year-old said.
In the same interview, Swiatek noted the message she received that day stuck to her and gave a blueprint on how she needed to learn to deal with losses.
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Meanwhile, Nadal's career officially came to an end on Tuesday after Spain's defeat to Netherlands in the Davis Cup Finals quarterfinal.
