Russian-born Daria Kasatkina has a special message for Australian supporters after French Open exit
FRANCE: Russian-born Daria Kasatkina's run at the French Open ended after her loss against Mirra Andreeva, with a final scoreline of 6-3, 7-5. However, the athlete admitted that she felt the deep support of Australian fans during her first Grand Slam event under the country's flag.
The athlete recently received her Australian permanent residency and changed her allegiance to play under Australia. She had hoped to be the first Australian woman to reach the French Open quarterfinals since Ash Barty in 2019.
Despite exiting the tournament, the 28-year-old declared that she was proud to be the 'last Aussie standing.'
Filled with so much support, Kasatkina expressed: 'It's been a good start… First of all, it's been a good result, but also, I felt super good to step on the court as an Australian player.'
She added: 'To feel the support from the stands so many times. I don't know if everyone who was screaming, 'Aussie,' were from Australia, but I felt this support. Also, on social media, I'm getting a lot of support from the Australians that they are so happy to welcome me, and they're happy for me.'
'So this is the kind of support which I honestly didn't have before, it feels like it's something new to me—but it feels so nice.' Highlights of the match
At the beginning of the match, Kasatkina had rallied with her opponent using her impressive defence and powerful shots.
By the second set, Kasatkina looked like she was out of the match. However, she showed her resilience and chased down tough shots. She also won a 26-shot rally. Moreover, she had the opportunity to take the set with a set point at 5-4, but Andreeva saved it with a strong forehand.
From there, Andreeva took control of the match. Andreeva broke serve and won the match on her second match point, when Kasatkina hit a forehand out.
With Andreeva's win, she has reached the quarterfinals without losing a set. She became the youngest woman in this century to make it to the last eight in two consecutive years–the last was Martina Hingis in 1998. See also Jack Draper beats Holger Rune to win the Indian Wells title
Kasatkina remarked, 'Well, she [Andreeva] grew so much. I feel like she's taller and taller every single week, her serve's improving all the time, and her movement is very good.'
In a social media post, Roland-Garros shared: 'It's happiness and relief for Andreeva after an intense battle today 💪.'
Netizens commented on the said post and remarked: '🔥 little princess of the WTA,' 'Mirra my new favourite 🙌 let's go,' 'Future world No 1,' and 'Go Mirraaaaa!!!!! ✌🎾💕✌.'
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