Daria Kasatkina's French Open win ensures 37-year first for Australian tennis
Daria Kasatkina has overcome the same feeling of burnout that sank her fellow Australian Alex de Minaur at the French Open, and now feels rejuvenated by reaching the fourth round at her "spiritual" tennis home at Roland Garros.
On the venue's famed Simonne Mathieu 'greenhouse court', Australia's newest tennis recruit was left thrilled how her stagnant game suddenly bloomed in humid conditions with a 6-1, 7-5 defeat of former world No.2 Paula Badosa.
Kasatkina's victory conjured up the rare but sweet smell of Paris success for her adopted tennis home as, for the first time in 37 years, there will now be an Aussie in both the men's and women's last-16 draws in the same year.
In 1988, Nicole Provis, who went on to reach the semis, and Pat Cash, both made the second week. Now the onus is on Kasatkina and Alexei Popyrin, who plays his fourth-round match against Tommy Paul on Sunday night from 7pm (AEST).
On Monday, Kasatkina will face Mirra Andreeva, her 18-year-old French-based Russian friend.
The vlogging pals ended up sharing an ice bath after their early showcourt progress, and Kasatkina, in her first slam under the Australian flag, sounded as if a weight had been lifted from her following a tough spell when her form and motivation slumped.
Echoing the lament of de Minaur, who said he was burnt out and mentally fatigued after his shock second-round loss, Kasatkina admitted it felt like a "super important" win for her.
"It means a lot especially the last couple of weeks were a bit rough for me. I couldn't find myself on court, I felt a little bit flat, like with emotions and stuff," said the 28-year-old, whose form hasn't been great since she gained permanent Australian residency two months ago.
"I felt little signs of burnout or something like that. I'm really happy I got back on track here in Roland Garros, one of my favourite tournaments."
Of de Minaur's complaints about the overcrowded schedule, she added: "I agree with Alex, because our schedule is pretty rough."
"We have a completely packed schedule. It's not normal, but it can happen that the person who is travelling all around the world all the time giving their best, living the life of tennis player, sometimes can feel he's tired, that sometimes you are just not super excited to go on court.
"I mean, this can happen. This is our job but I think everyone can relate that sometimes you don't want to wake up to go to your job.
"Yeah, we are super lucky at having this opportunity to do what we love and get paid for it and travel around the world. It's a nice life, but sometimes when you give everything to something, you feel tired and you need some rest."
But the 17th seed said she felt much better on court, dominating the first set against an out-of-sorts world No.10 Badosa before having to dig deep when the Spaniard, with more firepower but little of Kasatkina's all-court guile and superb defence, dragged her into a "tense" second-set scrap.
This triumph, still greeted by a standing ovation from the largely pro-Badosa crowd, was comfortably Kasatkina's best since her allegiance switch as she powered out to win eight of the first nine games, then nullified Badosa's biggest weapons, frustrating her into many of her 41 "unforced" errors.
Kasatkina smiled about how she transforms when returning to Roland-Garros, where she was a semifinalist in 2022, quarterfinalist in 2018 and the girls' champion in 2014.
"The courts, amazing, super-good quality, the atmosphere. I won here as a junior. When this happens, it just stays forever in you and automatically the place becomes special," she said.
"It's my 10th professional Roland-Garros, every time I'm coming here, I feel comfortable. I know every corner of the stadium. I don't know how it works, honestly, on a spiritual level, but somehow this place, it's been always nice to me."
AAP
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