Swiatek on playing against Osaka: "First match I wasn't mad after losing"

Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek are one of the biggest talents of women's tennis at the moment. While the Japanese already reached no. 1 of the WTA Ranking, the 18-years-old Polish player still waits for her first big success. On a recent Instagram Live, they spoke about their first match in Toronto last year where Osaka triumphed in 2 sets 7-6, 6-4.

"Toronto was special for me because usually when I was playing in big stadiums, I got so stressed that I couldn't play," Swiatek said. "That happened against Simona in the fourth round at the French Open. When we were playing against each other, I was excited for the whole match. That was the first match I lost, where I wasn't even mad after."

"I first saw you in Birmingham... and I felt like you were just staring at me. I was like, 'Why are you staring at me? Did I do something wrong?'," Osaka recalled.

"Creepy," Swiatek retorted.

"But in Toronto, I was like, 'Oh, actually, she's very nice!', and I was surprised because I thought you hated me or something... so the entire time, I was like, 'Oh, no!'"

"I always thought you were very interesting, and you were playing very well and I wanted to observe was you were doing, just to be better," the Polish No.2 continued.

"I remember we were stretching next to each other in Birmingham and I saw an Instagram that you posted for your dad's birthday... and I wanted to talk to you about that and tell you that it was funny, but I was too shy, so I just kept stretching."

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