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Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has invited the wrath of tennis fans thanks to an apparent dig at Iga Swiatek, where he insinuated that he was not worried about facing the Pole in mixed doubles at the ongoing United Cup.
Team Spain won their opening rubber against Brazil at the mixed-gender event and will next face off against Poland. The Polish contingent is led by Hubert Hurkacz on the men's side and by World No. 1 Swiatek on the women's.
At the press conference after the win over Brazil, one journalist put forward a question to Sara Sorribes Tormo, who will take on Swiatek in the singles fixture, if she thought she had less chance of beating the four-time Grand Slam champion when compared to other opponents.
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"So when you go in to play somebody like Iga compared to the others, do you feel a sense of -- I'm not saying negative -- but you feel you've got much less chances against her than you have going in against the others?" the journalist asked.
Sorribes Tormo answered in the positive, while Davidovich Fokina, who is leading Spain this year on the ATP side, chimed in with a definite "no" and a smile on his face. Unfortunately, the 24-year-old's reply did not go down well with fans on social media, who thought he was underestimating Swiatek.
Having seen Swiatek trouble Lorenzo Musetti last year at the United Cup when Poland faced off against Italy, many warned the Spaniard that he stands to experience the same fate when it comes time to play mixed doubles against Swiatek and Hurkacz.
"Ohhh Iga [Swiatek] better wipe the floor with him like she did with Musetti last year," one fan said.
"And now she’s gonna cook your a** in mixed doubles, good job," another fan wrote.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
"Even if Iga Swiatek beats you, I really learned" - Sara Sorribes Tormo
By contrast, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina's United Cup teammate Sara Sorribes Tormo was very respectful of facing Iga Swiatek, stating that she wanted to try her best against the Pole even if it was going to be difficult.
Having lost both previous encounters against Swiatek, Sorribes Tormo emphasized that she still managed to learn a lot from those outings and does not see the clash against the World No. 1 as a lost cause even if the result goes against her at the end of the day.
"Playing Iga, it's something incredible, because I think even if she beats you, that was what happened the last two times we played, she beat me, but I really learned."
"I'm really looking forward to play her, to have time with her on court. I'll try to enjoy it. I'll try to play my best, because it's going to be difficult. Yeah, as Alex said, it's always difficult to start the season. So let's try to make it long and have fun and enjoy it," Sara Sorribes Tormo said at the press conference.
