'Swiatek Plays Like Men' Says Kudermetova Ahead of Clash in Madrid

Thursday, 04 May 2023 at 15:05

Updated at Thursday, 04 May 2023 at 14:55

bySebastian Dahlman

Veronika Kudermetova had an interesting perspective to share about the play of Iga Swiatek comparing it to that of a male tennis player.

No player has been as dominant as Iga Swiatek on the WTA Tour in the past year and there haven't been many players that were able to properly challenge or beat her. Veronika Kudermetova will try what Alexandrova almost did in their upcoming semi-final clash at the 2023 Madrid Open.

She talked about Swiatek comparing her tennis to that of men. It's very aggressive and attacking which doesn't give her too much confidence ahead of the match but she will try her best. That's all you can do against a player like Swiatek.

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I mean, I think she play like, you know, the men's stylish game, because she does a lot of kick, she tries to play very aggressive. I mean, if I'm looking for that, it's not giving me like, confidence, but I will try to show my best, try to do the right things on the court. And I think this will be very important, just, you know, doesn't matter what was the score, but I know what I need to do.

It's a big challenge for Kudermetova because she hasn't had too much luck against Swiatek in the past. They played earlier this year in February and it was a 6-0 6-1 win for Iga. Now they're playing on clay which is an even better surface for her which only complicates matters.

Kudermetova did find a better level this week compared to other weeks but it remains to be seen how well that translates to this match. Her fitness will also be under a magnifying glass after taking a long medical timeout yesterday and another long match that went to three sets, making it four in a row in the Spanish capital for her.