Daria Kasatkina overcame the same feeling of burnout that sank fellow Australian Alex de Minaur at Roland Garros, and now feels rejuvenated by reaching the fourth round at her “spiritual” tennis home at Roland Garros.
On the famous ‘hothouse court’ Simonne Mathieu, Australia’s new tennis recruit was delighted to see her stagnant game suddenly blossom in wet conditions with a 6-1, 7-5 defeat of former world number 2 Paula Badosa.
Kasatkina’s victory evoked the rare but sweet smell of Parisian success for her adopted tennis as, for the first time in 37 years, there will now be an Australian in the men’s and women’s round of 16 in the same year.
In 1988, Nicole Provis, who reached the semi-finals, and Pat Cash, both competed in the second week. The onus now falls to Kasatkina and Alexei Popyrin, who will play his fourth round match against Tommy Paul on Sunday evening from 7pm (AEST).
On Monday, Kasatkina will face Mirra Andreeva, her 18-year-old Russian friend living in France.
The vlogging friends ended up sharing an ice bath after their initial progress on the show field, and Kasatkina, in her first slam under the Australian flag, looked as if a weight had been lifted from her after a difficult period when her form and motivation collapsed.
Echoing de Minaur’s lament, who said he was exhausted and mentally tired after his shock second round defeatKasatkina admitted it seemed like a “super important” win for her.
“It means a lot, especially the last few weeks have been a bit difficult for me. I couldn’t find myself on the pitch, I felt a bit flat, like with the emotions and all that,” said the 28-year-old, whose form hasn’t been great since she was granted permanent residency in Australia two months ago.
“I felt little signs of burnout or something like that. I’m really happy to be back on track here at Roland Garros, one of my favorite tournaments.”
Regarding de Minaur’s complaints about the busy schedule, she added: “I agree with Alex, because our schedule is quite busy.”
“We have a very busy schedule. It’s not normal, but it can happen that the person who is traveling all the time around the world giving their best, living the life of a tennis player, can sometimes feel tired, that sometimes they’re just not very excited to go on the court.
“I mean, it can happen. It’s our job but I think everyone can understand that sometimes you don’t want to wake up to go to work.
“Yes, we are very lucky to have the opportunity to do what we love, to get paid for it and to travel the world. It’s a beautiful life, but sometimes when you give your all for something, you feel tired and you need to rest.”
But the 17th seed said she was feeling much better on court, dominating the first set against an out-of-touch world number 10 Badosa before having to dig deep when the Spaniard, with more firepower but little of Kasatkina’s all-court guile and superb defense, dragged her into a “tense” second-set brawl.
That triumph, still greeted with a standing ovation from the largely pro-Badosa crowd, was comfortably Kasatkina’s best since switching allegiances as she surged to win eight of the first nine matches, then nullified Badosa’s biggest weapons, frustrating her in many of her 41 “unforced” errors.
Kasatkina smiled about her transformation on her return to Roland Garros, where she was a semi-finalist in 2022, a quarter-finalist in 2018 and a girls’ champion in 2014.
“The courts, incredible, very good quality, the atmosphere. I won here as a junior. When that happens, it stays with you forever and automatically the place becomes special,” she said.
“This is my 10th professional Roland-Garros, every time I come 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 has always been nice to me.”
Popyrin wary of American as he shoots for quarters
Popyrin believes the lessons he gleaned after the best victory of his career against Novak Djokovic will stand him in good stead as he now targets his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
But he dismissed the notion he would have an advantage over his French Open fourth-round opponent Tommy Paul, who had to battle through two successive grueling five-setters, as he hailed the American ironman as one of the in-form players on tour.
Popyrin experienced his finest moment of the Grand Slam when he beat the mighty Djokovic at the US Open last August in the third round, but was unable to back up that victory by losing to Frances Tiafoe in her first match in the fourth round.
But he believes things are very different this time around as he heads into the round of 16 “feeling pretty good” physically and mentally after winning all three of his matches in seven hours and seven minutes, having spent more than three and a half hours less on the pitch than Paul.
Alexei Popyrin will face American Tommy Paul in the round of 16 at Roland Garros. (Getty Images: Tim Clayton)
“I know how I’m going to feel going into the fourth round of a slam now,” the 25-year-old Sydneysider said.
“Before the fourth round against Tiafoe, I had no idea how I was going to feel, especially after a match like the third round against Novak. You get strong emotions, then you top that off with physical stress.
“It’s something I can kind of learn from, and that’s what I have.
“But I feel pretty good, considering the circumstances of it being a fourth round of a slam, and I hope I can continue to feel that way.”
He takes little comfort from the fact that the seemingly indefatigable world number 12, Paul, has played 14 sets in 10 hours and 45 minutes so far.
“I think Tommy is one of the fittest guys on tour,” Popyrin said.
“The work he does in the gym and off the court, I think he’s just going to come out and play normally. For me, it’s very important not to think about the fact that he played two five-setters in a row.
“I have to continue to focus on myself, on the way I played in the last two weeks and try to get that consistent level back. That’s the most important thing for me.”
PAA
