Managing expectations
Daria Kasatkina is not paying attention to the carnage playing out in the women’s draw. Despite being the sixth highest ranked player left heading into Saturday, the 21-year-old finds talk of title contention futile.
In just her third Wimbledon appearance, it would be unnecessary added pressure.
Even after seeing off the threat of Ashleigh Barty – one of the most in-form players of the grass court swing – the Russian preferred to keep expectations in check on Saturday after progressing to the fourth round.
Her 7-5, 6-3 victory marked the first time she had moved beyond the third round at the All England Club.
“She was serving good, she can slice the ball very low. It’s very dangerous on the grass so at the beginning I was not used to it but then found the right way to manage the situation,” Kasatkina said.
“I was pretty nervous at the beginning especially playing the first match of the day.”
After reaching a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final last month, with a victory over Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki en route, there was cause to believe second-week showings would become the norm.
Kasatkina chooses not to buy into the hype but after defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza’s second-round departure, her path to the quarter-finals is wide open. Unseeded Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck awaits.
“I don’t count these things. I’m not really on my phone checking on the scores of the seeded players,” Kasatkina said.
“It’s tennis and whatever can happen. You can win a Grand Slam then lose first round so it doesn’t really matter. I don’t care about these numbers.”
In an era where heavy flat ball-striking from the baseline dominates, Kasatkina and Barty present a welcome contrast.
“Since I was very young I was playing this kind of game,” Kasatkina said. “When I was 13, 14 I couldn’t find my backhand. I was only slicing the ball and hitting drop shots … I was never a powerful girl so I had to find another way to win.”
Both stand-out juniors with exceptional touch and on-court nous, this match-up promised a show of clever shot-making and it was the Australian who made early inroads with a break for 2-0.
As a Wimbledon Girls’ Singles Champion at 15, expectations on Barty had been understandably high.
After a brief hiatus from the sport, she had returned with her passion reinvigorated and the results finally began to follow in 2017.
After a second career title, and her first on grass, at Nottingham leading in, Barty was eyeing a maiden fourth-round appearance at a Grand Slam and with points for 5-1, she looked to be in well on her way.
Kasatkina, though, was beginning to find her range. Sensing the Australian was tightening, she rolled a perfectly weighted lob to bring up break point for 6-5 and converted when Barty sliced wide. A love hold secured the opening set.
Trailing a set and a break, Barty could not stem the flow of errors in the second set, with her fluid ground strokes beginning to miss with increasing frequency.
A forehand sent metres long handed the Russian three match points. She secured it on her first, drilling the ball down the line to book her fourth round berth.
Time now, to cheer on her compatriots from afar as they take on Croatia for a World Cup semi-final berth.
“We had an agreement with the Khachanov family to watch it together but he’s playing last match so I don’t know yet where we’ll see the match,” she said. “But for sure we’ll put all the energy, all the positive vibes into this game.”
