“We will see in 14 years” - Iga Swiatek evades comparisons with ‘total legend’ Rafael Nadal after reaching 3rd consecutive French Open final

Iga Swiatek brushed off comparisons with Rafael Nadal, having reached her third consecutive French Open final after defeating Coco Gauff in the semifinals of the ongoing edition. She is a two-time defending champion and has lifted the Suzanne-Lemglen Cup three times in her career.

Swiatek's great run in the French Open has led to comparisons with Nadal, who is widely regarded as the King of Clay due to his sheer dominance on the surface. He lifted La Coupe de Mousquetaires an unprecedented 14 times and boasts a staggering 112-4 win/loss record at the Paris Major.

Similarly, Swiatek won her first French Open title at the age of 19 in 2020, becoming the youngest player to win the singles title since the Spaniard. She suffered a defeat to Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals the next year, which to this day remains the only loss the Pole has suffered at Roland Garros (singles).

Swiatek has since been on a 20-match win streak, winning two titles and reaching the summit clash this year. As has been the case in previous editions, she has been phenomenal this time as well, taking out the likes of Naomi Osaka and Marketa Vondoursova along the way. The Pole's latest victim was Coco Gauff, who was decimated by the top seed 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 37 minutes.

During her post-match press conference, Iga Swiatek was asked about the Rafael Nadal comparison. According to Swiatek, it would take another 14 years to see if their careers pan out similarly. The 23-year-old admitted that it was great to be compared to the 'total legend' since he is the greatest in her eyes. She claimed that she was proud of the way she was performing and that being in the same sentence as her idol was something she deeply cherished

“We will see in 14 years if the journey is similar, I mean it's obviously very nice to me. I would never expect anyone to compare me to Rafa because for me he is above everybody and he is a total legend. We will see in a couple of years, but I am proud of myself that I am playing consistently here and that I'm mentioned in the same sentence as Rafa. That's cool,” Swiatek said.

Iga Swiatek will play Jasmine Paolini in the final of the 2024 French Open

Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek will look to complete a three-peat at the French Open this year. However, standing in her way is the Italian Jasmine Paolini, who reached her first Grand Slam final after defeating 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and 13 minutes.

The Italian has been in sublime form this year and brought that form into Roland Garros. En route to the final, she saw off the likes of Bianca Andreescu and fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina.

This will be the third meeting between the two women, with Swiatek up 2-0 in their head-to-head. Their most recent meeting came in the first round of the 2022 US Open which Swiatek won 6-3, 6-0.