Iga Swiatek drops Rafael Nadal-inspired wisdom as she heads into Rome for Italian Open 2024 campaign

Iga Swiatek recently dropped some Rafael Nadal-inspired wisdom ahead of the 2024 Italian Open. She used the Spaniard's iconic quote which was said in 2019.

The Pole has had a stellar start to the European clay court season. Though she failed to complete her three-peat at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix after she was defeated by eventual champion Elena Rybakina in the semifinals, Swiatek more than made up for it when she defeated Aryna Sabalenka in the final to clinch her maiden Madrid Open title.

The 22-year-old has now arrived at the next stop at the clay swing which is the Italian Open. She is a two-time champion at the tournament winning it in 2021 and 2022. She was going for a three-peat last year but had to retire against Rybakina due to a right thigh injury in the quarterfinals. The Kazakh coincidentally went on to lift the title.

The top seed announced her arrival via a post on Instagram. However, what is eye-catching is the caption used by the Pole in which she dropped some Rafael Nadal-inspired wisdom as she said,

"And here we are. We are in Rome… 🧱🇮🇹🍝#rafawisdom"

The caption alluded to the Spaniard's renowned quote from 2019,

"What happened in Monte-Carlo happened, and what happened in Barcelona happened, and what happened in Madrid happened. And here we are. We are in Rome."

These comments were made by the Spaniard when he had lost three consecutive semifinals in the clay season, which was an unusual thing for the 14-time Roland Garros champion. He then made a phenomenal comeback as he went on to win the Italian Open defeating Novak Djokovic in the final and followed it up with a French Open title and a US Open triumph.

"I don't want to talk about whether this will be Nadal's last match or tournament" - Iga Swiatek at Madrid Open

Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal

While competing at the Madrid Open, Iga Swiatek opened up on Rafael Nadal's retirement as she requested fans to curb the high expectations people had for the 37-year-old to create a miracle and hoped that the Spaniard took care of himself.

"I just want people to take it easy 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," Iga Swiatek said. (translated via Punto de Break)

Swiatek refrained from suggesting when the Spaniard could play his final match and said that she wouldn't even know how to react if she knew that she was playing the last match of her career.

"I don't want to talk about whether this will be Nadal's last match or tournament because it's his decision and it's been 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," the World No. 1 added.

Iga Swiatek is the top seed in Rome and as a result, has received a bye in the first round whereas Nadal will kick off his run against Zizou Bergs in the opening round.