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A hilarious interaction between Grand Slam champions Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek has recently been doing the rounds on social media. In the two-minute conversation recorded by racket manufacturer Technifibre, Medvedev and Swiatek talk about the Russian's unique playing style.
Swiatek, the 2020 Roland Garros champion, began by saying she was trying to play less like a "pretzel," referring to Medvedev's unique playing style. For the uninitiated, a pretzel is a type of baked pastry that is commonly shaped into a knot.
The 21-year-old then went on to clarify her statement, saying the Russian made "weird poses" while hitting his groundstrokes. Swiatek was also quick to point out that her analogy was not meant as an insult, and that she loved watching Medvedev play.
"Actually we're going to work on me not playing like a pretzel," Swiatek joked. "Sorry Daniil, but I was watching your games, wait, maybe in English it's not a pretzel?"
"It's just bread, that, it's like," Swiatek continued. "I don't want you to feel bad about it, but I mean, you make these weird poses, hitting backhands. It's great, I love watching that."
Medevdev picked up the analogy and ran with it, stating that he will accept "pretzel" as one of the "many nicknames" he has been given over the course of his career.
"No one has ever called me a pretzel before," Medvedev joked. "Okay, it's gonna be one of my many nicknames that I have."
The recently-crowned US Open champion then elaborated on his "uncoordinated" playing style, saying that it came to him quite naturally. The Russian recalled playing against hard-hitting players as a youngster, saying that he always felt that they were much stronger than him physically.
Medvedev added that his desire to always want to win forced him to come up with shots that would "annoy" his opponents, something that is still part of his game.
"I mean, since I was young, I was really uncoordinated," Medvedev revealed. "So that's how I was playing, you know? Everybody was hitting strong at me, and I was doing lobs. I mean, I have nothing much to it. So I was not not doing amazing technically, but I always wanted to win."
"So I tried to find shots that would annoy my opponent because they were better than me," he continued. "Technically physically, they were better, but I wanted to win. So that's how I think my technique developed."
Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek eye strong finish to the season
Daniil Medvedev is enjoying a hugely successful season, having reached the final of the Australian Open and lifted his maiden Grand Slam trophy at the US Open. The Russian last played at the BNP Paribas Open, losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
Medvedev, who is still in with a chance of finishing as the year-end No. 1, is scheduled to play at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals in November.
Iga Swiatek has also secured her spot at the WTA Finals. The Polish youngster, who has won two titles this season, will be making her debut in the season-ending extravaganza in Guadalajara.
