“I think there are similarities,” Andy Roddick compares Iga Swiatek’s game to that of Rafael Nadal

Iga Swiatek to begin her grass season at the WTA 500 Berlin Open which starts on June 15.

“I think there are similarities,” Andy Roddick compares Iga Swiatek’s game to that of Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek and Andy Roddick (via Eurosport/IMAGO)

Iga Swiatek has been dubbed the ‘Queen of Clay’ since her French Open victory in Paris this year. The tennis sensation has improved beyond the imagination of her fellow women competitors making her hard to play against. For American legend, Andy Roddick her style of play has similarities to Rafael Nadal’s style.

Swiatek has always lauded Nadal as her idol in tennis perhaps that was what made her love playing on clay surfaces more than any other court. The 23-year-old star grew up playing on hard court in Poland but Nadal’s success on clay captured her love for the surface. The 38-year-old won the French Open a record 14 times and the Italian Open 10 times.

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Despite Swiatek being miles away from Nadal’s achievement on clay, she possesses the attributes to become like the Spaniard in the WTA. The World No.1 has been on flying form since April winning the Madrid Open and the Italian Open without losing a set. At the French Open, she continued her form, losing only 20 points from the third round to the final.

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She beat Jasmine Paolini in straight sets to claim her fifth Grand Slam singles title. Her extraordinary form has led Andy Roddick to explain her similar style of play to that of Rafael Nadal.

Nobody really troubles her. So it's, it's unless you can like kind of hit her off the court, I think, yeah, she's not going to have any, any problems with anybody really. I think there are similarities to Rafa in that regard where you didn't see Rafa lose a lot of matches when someone didn't have something to kind of take control to make him react to, right. Like I would play him on hard and I knew I could come in on the first server. At least it wouldn't work all the time.
Andy Roddick said via Served

Swiatek is hoping to take her good clay season form to the grass swing. She will start her grass season at the WTA 500 Berlin Open on June 15.

Iga Swiatek hoping to adapt to grass season despite the short period of time

Iga Swiatek is hoping to take her brilliant form to the grass season despite finding it hard to compete on the surface in recent years. The Polish star will play at the Berlin Open, which will feature all of the Top 5 WTA players.

Also, Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber have already been awarded wildcards into the main draw of the tournament.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via Imago)
The balls are different. Overall tennis is different on grass. I'll just see and I'll work hard to play better there. Last year's result was pretty nice. I feel like every year it's easier for me to adapt to grass.
Iga Swiatek said via SkySport

Swiatek is not on the entry list for the Rothesay Open and Hamburg Open. This means after Berlin she will focus on Wimbledon.

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