Sports press conferences can be pretty boring, so funnyman Jimmy Fallon decided to inject a dose of humor into the ones given by the tennis players competing in the U.S. Open this year. The talk show host came up with silly phrases for tennis stars Andy Murray, Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic and others to slip into their interviews with the media, and the results are pretty hilarious.
On Sept. 4, Fallon explained on “The Tonight Show” that the goal was to have the athletes work the funny phrases in as casually as possible. No one knew about the prank ahead of time, and it turns out some of the players were just as fit for this gag as they are for the Open.
“It’s bizarre, but it’s so good,” he said of the humorous experiment. Check it out in this clip from the late-night show below:
When British player Andy Murray is asked about how he prepares for the big tournament, he describes his routine, adding, “I used to take cat naps. Now I’m taking kitten naps, which are half as long but twice as cute.”
He manages to keep a straight face while delivering this line, which makes it all the funnier.
Next up, Australian player Ashleigh Barty slips in the phrase, “the tighter the strings, the sweeter the swings,” to describe her game. Too funny!
American player Madison Keys describes fellow U.S. star Serena Williams as “good at just knowing how to use every part of the kayak,” which makes absolutely no sense when describing tennis.
Then there’s Czech player Karolina Pliskova, who uses the term, “game set, match, do the cabbage patch,” during a press conference, which I honestly hope catches on because it’s hilarious. She gets a lot of laughter on that one, so here’s hoping.
Russian superstar Maria Sharapova manages to utter, “Let me tell you something, you’re never going to find three tennis balls in a Pringles can,” without even cracking a smile, and for that, she should be commended.
Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas declares, “Slap your dad and call him Brad,” apropos of nothing, followed by Serbian player Novak Djokovic saying, “When the score is deuce, the juice gets loose,” to describe a game. Japanese player Naomi Osaka delivers the same line, but she has a little more trouble keeping a straight face.
American player Bethanie Mattek-Sands ends the clip with the phrase, “Thish ish tennish,” which she follows up with, “I mean, I don’t know what we’re doing.”
Me neither! Hats off to these athletes for being good sports with this little prank, no pun intended!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for other great tips and ideas to make the most out of life.
