"Iga Swiatek's got the potential to be like Rafael Nadal" – Martina Navratilova

Former tennis professional Martina Navratilova has said that Iga Swiatek possesses the ability to emulate Rafael Nadal's success.

Swiatek is set to start her Australian Open 2024 campaign as the top seed on Tuesday, January 16, in Melbourne. She will take on the USA's Sofia Kenin in the opener.

She holds the upper hand over Kenin with a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head record. She defeated the American in 2020 at Roland Garros in the final to win her first Grand Slam title.

Interestingly, the four-time Major winner has fared poorly at the Australian Open thus far, with a semi-final appearance in 2022 being her best result.

Martina Navratilova recently pointed out that the Pole needs to improve her net game to succeed at the Melbourne Major while equating her with Nadal in terms of potential.

"How good will she [Iga Swiatek] be if she starts going forward? Ridiculous. I think she’s got the potential to be kind of like Nadal. She’s got those soft hands -- she just doesn’t seem confident to use them," Navratilova told WTA.

The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion suggested that Nadal too was reluctant to play forward. She said:

"When Nadal came up, he was allergic to the net, didn’t have a slice. And then he developed all of that. I think she has such a curious mind and she’ll want to improve that."

Navratilova further opined that Iga Swiatek needs to put in a lot of work to turn her shortcomings into her assets.

"Hard to believe, but she’s got a lot of places she can get better. Her so-called weaknesses can become strengths. Not backing away from the net, she can be even more dominant," she asserted.

Notably, Martina Navratilova has three Australian Open titles under her belt. She won the Happy Slam in 1981, 1983, and 1985.

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A brief account of Iga Swiatek's performance at Australian Open in 2023

Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek cruised through the initial rounds of the Australian Open in 2023 but failed to overcome Elena Rybakina in the fourth round.

The Pole began the fortnight by defeating Germany's Jule Niemeier 6-4, 7-5 in the opening round. She further dismissed challenges from Camila Osaria and Cristina Bucsa in the second and third rounds, respectively, in straight sets.

Swiatek lost the plot completely against eventual finalist Elena Rybakina in the pre-quarterfinals. She lost the tie in straight sets to allow the Kazakhstani to level their head-to-head at 1-1 then.