Used to getting standing ovations in the biggest tennis stadiums in the world, Iga Swiatek admitted that she was taken by surprise by the rousing round of applause she received in another sporting area late last month, when she appeared on the jumbotron during a Golden State Warriors game.
“I loved watching this game,” Swiatek told reporters in her pre-tournament press conference Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open, where she is the defending champion. “I was super grateful for the reception, because, I don’t know, I wasn’t really expecting that. It was amazing and I really appreciate that.”
But as the Warriors’ 119-101 win over the Charlotte Hornets, which Swiatek described first as “more like a 6-love, 6-love match,” that “wasn’t really super exciting ‘tl the end,” rolled on, the world No. 2 found herself commiserating with a more familiar target of Chase Center cheers, Warriors’ sharp-shooter Steph Curry, on more than just fan appreciation.
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