World No 8 Daria Kasatkina admitted that she felt the nerves early on against Cori Gauff but added she was glad that she was able to win the match and keep her WTA Finals hopes alive. On Thursday, Kasatkina defeated Gauff 7-6 (6) 6-3 to improve to 1-1 at the WTA Finals.
The first set saw a total of six breaks – three on each side. After failing to serve out for the first set in the 12th game, Kasatkina realized her third set point in the tie-break to win a tight opener. The struggles on service continued in the second set but Kasatkina managed to get the job done in straight sets as she lost her serve twice but broke Gauff three times to win the second set.
“It was tough. I was nervous at the beginning. With the rhythm of the match, nerves disappear a little bit and start to be better. So I’m really happy to be in the next round, still alive,” Kasatkina said, per the WTA website.
Kasatkina has everything in her hands now
In her final group stage match, Kasatkina plays Caroline Garcia, who is also 1-1. The winner of that match progresses into the WTA Finals semifinal. “This is exactly what we face every single week.
If you win, you advance, if you lose, you go home. So it’s gonna be fun. The last tournament of the season for me and facing this kind of situation,” Kasatkina noted. Kasatkina, 25, is making her WTA Finals debut this week.
Kasatkina, who lost to Iga Swiatek two days earlier, admitted it was weird to lose a match and then still stay at the tournament. “Normally if you lost, you’re just like, ‘OK, the tournament is done,’ I pack my bags and I go to the airport.
Here is completely different. I had to push myself to practice the next day like nothing happened and prepare for the next match. That was interesting. I felt unusual, let’s say, but pretty happy how I handled the situation, which was quite new for me,” Kasatkina explained.
