Swiatek’s request as he continues to thrive at Roland Garros

“I want to play mixed doubles with Rafa. I think it will be a very good experience. But when was the last time you played mixed doubles?”. The one who framed the desire to unite a couple with Nadal and asked about 100 journalists to go to listen to him in the main press room at Roland Garros was not just another tennis player. Those words came from the mouth of Polish Iga Swiatek, the No. 1 in the world and the fair heir to the throne vacated by the Australian. Ashley Barty in March he announced his retirement at the age of 25.

And that is Swiatek, actually. That is, a girl who is almost 20 years old (she will be 21 on Monday) that if one day of the week at noon she was standing in front of the Obelisk wearing jeans and a T-shirt, no one would recognize her. Because that’s him: a cult at the extreme of low profile. Now, when he puts on his beanie and picks up his racket, stay …

Swiatek advanced to the third round at Roland Garros on Thursday. He did this by giving up just two games (he even lost two in his debut) against Alison Riske, 43rd in the world rankings, won three titles and three years ago reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Meaning, don’t crush a player without hierarchy. But Swiatek confirms to Bois de Boulogne brick dust that his tennis is at a higher level than his other teammates.

Against Riske, she achieved her 30th consecutive win, since she came to number 1 she has had 13 consecutive wins (the longest consecutive win since Serena Williams in 2015) and , who had not yet had the first half of the season exhausted, the 6-0 first-set against the American was the 15th he had scored in the year and ten shy of the best mark in the category held by Williams himself in 2013.

During the very good players on tour, Swiatek clearly stands out among them all. He has a lot of tennis, of course, but he also has one thing that even the famous credit card can’t buy: he has tremendous charisma. And the face of an ordinary woman …