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American tennis legend Martina Navratilova recently dismissed Iga Swiatek's confession of tiredness, advising the World No. 1 to "suck it up" ahead of the US Open. However, her comments didn't go down well with tennis fans, who have taken to social media in support of Swiatek.
Iga Swiatek suffered her first ever loss to Coco Gauff in the semifinals of the Western and Southern Open. In the post-match press conference, the Pole admitted to running on an "empty fuel tank", and expressed relief at having a few days off before the US Open.
Reacting to Swiatek's comments, 18-time Grand Slam champion Navratilova sympathised with the physical stress on players but insisted that the magnitude of the final Grand Slam of the year must outweigh her fatigue.
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“But I still have to say, ‘Come on, just suck it up’. It’s September, you didn’t play that many tournaments and this is the US Open. So if you can’t get up for that… if you’re that mentally tired, don’t play," Navratilova said.
The former World No. 1 further claimed that this is what Swiatek has wanted all her life, before adding that she needs to "toughen up."
“This is what you want all your life and here you are. So you just gotta toughen up on that front. I don’t have that much sympathy for that when I think about what we went through. Get on with it,” she said.
Several tennis fans took to social media to share their opinions on the matter. One of them questioned the emotional maturity of the older generation.
"Why are old ppl so emotionally immature I don't understand 😭😭😭 this is such an aggressive answer to a really normal comment," the fan tweeted.
Another fan opined:
"I think sometimes it's better to remain silent than to just talk nonsense."
One of the fans asked Navratilova to leave Swiatek alone.
"Leave her alone you beast @Martina," they wrote.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:
"Has it been a year already?" - Iga Swiatek on her return to the US Open as the defending champion
Iga Swiatek defeated Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6 in the final of the 2022 US Open to lift her first Grand Slam trophy outside clay. Being the defending champion as well as the top seed at this year's US Open, Swiatek has a lot on the line, including the World No. 1 spot.
Swiatek recently took to Twitter to reminisce on her return to the US Open, as she shared pictures of her training before the start of the tournament. Her tweet read:
"Has it been a year already?😱 Good to be back @usopen!"
Iga Swiatek will start her 2023 campaign against Sweden's Rebecca Peterson in the opening round. She is projected to face either Clervie Ngounoue or Daria Saville in the second round, No. 29 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the third round, No. 16 seed Veronika Kudermetova in the fourth round, and No. 6 seed Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals of the 2023 US Open.
