In her first grand slam under the Australian flag, Daria Kasatkina has predictably become the last of the female green-and-gold brigade standing in the French Open main draw as she set up a blockbuster third-round match with top Spaniard Paula Badosa.
But after winning her late-night match 6-4 6-2 on Court Suzanne Lenglen in straight sets over French wildcard Leolia Jeanjean, the 17th seed revealed she’s already thinking about next year’s Australian Open when she can really enjoy the support of fans from her new adopted country.
Kasatkina broke into a broad smile and made the French crowd laugh too as she explained just how nervous the idea of her first Melbourne match as an Aussie made her.
“Honestly, I cannot wait for next year in Melbourne – I know I’m gonna shit my pants!” she declared.
“I feel more and more support from the Aussies. And through the matches I can hear like, ‘Let’s go Aussie. Let’s go Aussie!’. So that’s amazing for me…Honestly, it’s a big honour. Yes, mate, I’m honestly enjoying it!”
Kasatkina hopes to have set up home in Melbourne by the time of her new home slam, but, realistically, the French Open, where she’s been a junior champion, and a semi-finalist and quarter-finalist in the senior tournament will remain her best hope on her favourite clay surface.
It’s not going to be easy to get that far this time as she duels again with former world no.2 Badosa, who she’s played six times with the pair winning three apiece.
Kasatkina had to endure a long wait to get on court and took some time to find her stride against the world No.100 Jeanjean before she eventually started to dominate with her languid all-court quality, breaking the Frenchwoman’s serve six times.
“Honestly, you know how tough it is to wait all day for your match, that is one of the most difficult things to do, to go out there and you are only semi-fresh because you are stepping on court late in the evening,” said Kasatkina, who’s in the third round at Roland Garros for the seventh time.
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au