Rafael Nadal's wisdom motivates Katie Boulter to shake off Madrid Open 1R exit ahead of Italian Open campaign

Rafael Nadal's wise words spoken at the 2019 Italian Open press conference have served as inspiration for Katie Boulter.

The Briton suffered an opening-round loss at the recently concluded Madrid Open. The 2024 San Diego Open winner will next be seen on-court at the Italian Open on Friday, May 10. She will play the winner between wildcard Giorgia Pedone and a qualifier in the Round of 64 after receiving a first-round bye.

Boulter took to Instagram to share a story of her time in Rome. The post contained pictures of the World No. 28 practicing on-court and enjoying the sights and food in the Italian capital.

Boulter also included a short clip of the 22-time Grand Slam champion looking ahead to his next step at the 2019 Italian Open instead of focussing on past results.

"What happened in Barcelona happened and what happened in Madrid happened and here we are. We are in Rome," Nadal said, as per the clip.

Boulter shared it to motivate herself and wrote:

"What happened, happened we are in Rome," Boulter captioned the clip on Instagram.

Screengrab from Katie Boulter's Instagram

That year, Nadal had lost to Dominic Thiem in the semifinals of the Barcelona Open. He also fell to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals of the Madrid Open. Shaking off the losses and the pressure of winning his first title that year, he later won the 2019 Italian Open against Novak Djokovic.

Rafael Nadal will also be competing at this year's Italian Open.

Iga Swiatek draws inspiration from Rafael Nadal's wisdom ahead of Italian Open 2024

Rafael Nadal practices ahead of the 2024 Italian Open.

Rafael Nadal's words were not only an inspiration for Katie Boulter but also for Iga Swiatek. With three out of her four Grand Slams wins at the French Open, Swiatek shares a love for clay much like the 14-time French Open champion.

The World No. 1 took to Instagram to announce her arrival in Rome. She shared a picture of herself walking down a hallway and quoted Nadal in the caption.

"And here we are. We are in Rome… #rafawisdom," Swiatek wrote on Instagram alluding to Rafael Nadal's words.

A record 10-time winner of the Italian Open title, Nadal has virtually made the courts of Foro Italico his home. The 'King of Clay' will begin his campaign on Thursday against Zizou Bergs.