Latest / Bleacher Report / Reigning Roland-Garros Champ, Iga Świątek, Talks Defending Her Title, Nadal’s Impact & More

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Reigning Roland-Garros Champ, Iga Świątek, Talks Defending Her Title, Nadal’s Impact & More · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Is with my great honor to introduce the Queen of Clay,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: the mindset master, the silent storm, chasing history with every swing,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: a four time role on Garro's Champion, the Pride of Poland,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: the one and only Ego mee I peck.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Yes, wow, nothing is going to be dead.
• 0:22
  Speaker 3: Thank you. I'm so excited you're here.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Well, thanks for having me.
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: I love watching you play tennis. Oh, thank you.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: I love the fact that you brought the tissues to
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the Raffa event on Sunday. Did that change this tournament
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: for you at all? Did at any perspective having that
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: in the very beginning?
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Well, honestly, every time I see Rafa, no matter if
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: he's playing or not, it gives me, you know, an inspiration.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: And this, Yeah, I was surprised, you know, by the
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: fact that even just sitting there and knowing what's gonna happen,
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: but still like watching and just remembering, you know, how
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: much he grinds he put you in every match on
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: and watching him say goodbye for sure, it was like
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: super inspiring. And and yeah, you get.
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: To see his footprints when you go on shot.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's true.
• 1:12
  Speaker 4: I think I can't believe next year one great champion,
• 1:14
  Speaker 4: so not a great champion. There's not a lot of
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: people can say they've won here four times. What does
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: it feel like for you to come back here? Do
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: you feel more pressure? Do you feel relaxed when you
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: come to play here? What's the feeling like?
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Well, you probably know that every year is different, so
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: so it's been a case on round garls a little
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: bit because yeah, in twenty twenty, obviously I came like
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: with no expectations, just trying to knowing that the draw
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: is going to be tough because I played like against
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: Marqueta first round, she was in the final, you know,
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: previous year. So I just you know, played match by match,
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: didn't expect anything and was shocked that I could even
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: play Semis or the final. You know. Then next year,
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: you know, playing first time as a defending champion was
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: a was a tricky one. In twenty twenty two, you know,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: I was super focused just going for it and knowing
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: you know what that was waiting at the end, and
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: just you know, pushing and working hard to make it.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Twenty twenty three, yeah, it was probably the toughest year,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: Like a lot of nerves and just knowing that the
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: target is on my back, and last year, I don't know,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: like you know, playing this second round bench with now me,
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: it kind of gave me a feeling that I was
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: so close to being out of the tournament that now
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: I have nothing to lose and I should just move forward.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: And yeah, so every year is different. This year I
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: feel just that's this is my home kind of and
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: I already have so many great memories that I just
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: want to use that to give me this extra you know,
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: motivation and extra positive energy that I really needed, you know,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: since the beginning of the season. So so yeah, every
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: year is different. Honestly, sorry for long gash the great answer.
• 3:01
  Speaker 5: You've had so much success here, Like you just hinted today,
• 3:04
  Speaker 5: it's about eighty five degrees out there. It's about a
• 3:05
  Speaker 5: hundred on set right now, if you guys can't tell,
• 3:07
  Speaker 5: everyone's sweating. You've obviously played in all types of conditions
• 3:10
  Speaker 5: here over the years, hot, cold, windy, rainy. Do you
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: have an ideal kind of temperature setting you want it
• 3:16
  Speaker 5: to be. You like when it's hot, you like when
• 3:18
  Speaker 5: it's cold. What's your preference?
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: Well, that's a that's a good question, because you know
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: first year that I want to hear it was super
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: humid and cold. It was in October, you know, because
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: of COVID.
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: It was postponed.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: So I thought, I like, you know, the rainy conditions
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: where the bulls are getting heavy, and and I thought
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: that for my opponents it's harder to just you know,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: give power to the bull than to me. But then
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: over the years I realized that I also love playing
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: when it's hot because the bull bounces high and my
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: topsmen can.
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: Really do the job.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: So so it depends, I don't know.
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: Any matter, it doesn't that's bad news for the field.
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: When you's heart like that, you have.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: To adjust anyway. No point to overthink it is that.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: Doua Yeah, du Alipa.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: I was going to ask you, if you had to
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: choose dinner with one person, would it be Rafa or Taylor.
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: Swift Dull or do it? Now it's like a three person.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: If I take Strafa, I think we could go to dinner.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: So so I'm gonna.
• 4:21
  Speaker 4: Go with Taylor.
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: So I'm only doing this because it's my first time
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: meeting you and I want to impress you.
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: Put the photo on the screen please if you'd like.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: That's me and that's Taylor, and I don't really know
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: her at all, but I could try and connect you.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: Guys, are these two different photos or one photo?
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: How dare you think that I photo shout out. I
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: can vouch for him. It's a real photo. Wow, actually happened.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Well, you are close.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I talked about you if I did, but I will
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: try to connect you. This is a big Do you
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: have any other questions before I do our surprise?
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: No, but we have a big, big surprise. So because
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: it's your birthday.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: Tomorrow, are you gonna get me to dinner?
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: Caroline? Take it away?
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: That so lots.
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: Anybody here shift soil and then you shut us, You
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: shut us?
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: Yeah, did you wish for the dinner with Taylor?
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah? What did you wish for your champion? What did
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: you wish for? She can't tell, don't tell.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: Tournament mode.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: So you're focused, You're focused.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: Igus Fiantech, one of the best to ever do it,
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: four time, roll on Garrow's champion and what do you know,
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: she moves on to her seventh straight fourth rout.
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: Happy birthday, you got Yeah,