Iga Swiatek, the world number one, said she was so taken aback by Serena Williams that she hesitated to make eye contact with the American veteran. Serena and Swiatek are both scheduled to compete in the 2019 Cincinnati Open.
Swiatek, who recently lost to Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in the Canadian Open Round of 16, claimed she hasn’t been able to say ‘hello’ to Serena due to her bashful personality.
“I have a hard time catching eye contact with Serena. And I just wanted to say ‘Hi’ a few times. But it’s tough because she always has so many people around her and I’m pretty shy,” Swiatek was quoted as saying in the pre-tournament press conference.
“When I look at her, I suddenly kind of forget that I’m here as the World No. 1. I see Serena and it’s, ‘Wow, Serena!’ You know? And I feel like I’m a kid from kindergarten just looking at her. So it’s tough. I haven’t talked to her, but I’m just trying to say hi,” she stated. “It would be the last chance to play her. I’d love to if only to see how it is to face her on the other side of the net,” she added.
On Wednesday, August 17, Swiatek will compete in Cincinnati’s Round of 32 match against American Sloane Stephens. On the other side, Serena is slated to play Emma Raducanu of Great Britain at Centre Court on the same day.
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