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Iga Swiatek recently referred to Andy Murray as "an inspiration" in response to him calling her his "favorite player to watch" on the WTA tour.
At 36, Murray is approaching the end of his decorated career. He has won 46 ATP titles, including three Grand Slams. The Brit also holds the record for being the only player to have won consecutive Olympic gold medals (2012 and 2016).
In a recent interview with Tennis Channel, Murray had this to say about Swiatek.
“On the women's side, I love watching Iga. I think she's brilliant to watch. She's my favorite player to watch on the female side.”
On Thursday (March 7), Swiatek replied to the video posted on Tennis Channel's X (formerly Twitter) account, stating that the 36-year-old is an inspiration.
“You are an inspiration @andy_murray. Thank you,” Swaitek wrote.
22-year-old Iga Swiatek has been a dominant force on the WTA tour over the past few years, winning four Grand Slam titles and holding the No. 1 ranking for 93 weeks. She currently sits at No. 10 on the all-time list for most weeks at No. 1.
Swiatek began her 2024 season at the United Cup, representing Poland; they lost to Germany in the final. She then competed at the Australian Open, where she was knocked out in the third round by Linda Noskova.
The Pole then traveled to the Qatar Open, where she clinched the title by defeating Elina Rybakina in the final. This was her third consecutive win at the WTA 1000 event.
The World No. 1 then competed at the Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating Sloane Stephens, Elina Svitolina, and Qinwen Zheng before losing to Anna Kalinskaya in the semifinals.
Iga Swiatek will face Danielle Collins in Indian Wells 2R
Iga Swiatek will begin her 2024 Indian Wells Open campaign with a potentially tricky encounter against Danielle Collins on Friday.
The Pole reached the semifinals in Indian Wells last season before being knocked out by Elena Rybakina. However, Swiatek was the champion in 2022, beating Maria Sakkari in the final.
Collins, meanwhile, defeated Erika Andreeva on Thursday in two tight sets to set up the second-round match against Swiatek.
The hard-hitting American is currently ranked No. 56 in the world. Her record for the season stands at 13-6, with a quarterfinal run in Qatar being her best result so far.
Swiatek and Collins have faced off six times on the WTA tour, with the 22-year-old winning five matches.
