Daria Kasatkina has successfully steered the wind at Eastbourne International in her favor! After battling through Jasmine Paolini in the semifinals of the event, the Russian tennis pro has secured her place in the final clash of the event. However, before that, her semifinal clash with Emma Raducanu ended with her victory by 6-2, 6-2. Strangely enough, after the defeat, Raducanu stated how the “windy conditions” favored her game in that match. Responding to that, Kasatkina has given her verdict on the matter!

After the victory in her latest match against Paolini (6-3, 5-7, 3-6), the former World No. 8, Daria Kasatkina appeared for a post-match conference. A clip of that interview was released on the Tennis Weekly channel, where one reporter reiterated what Emma Raducanu said after the match. In Raducanu’s words, “I hadn’t really played many matches in that level of wind. Daria actually plays really good in those conditions, because she makes it very awkward for the opponent. I just think she handled it a lot better.”

Upon hearing it from the reporter, Daria Kasatkina calmly responded, “It’s possible honestly yes there is some truth I think in this in her words uh because in Eastbourne first of all it’s quite windy most of the times uh and in the very windy days it’s coming to being very consistent.” Interestingly, this is not Daria Kasatkina’s first run to the final of this event.

Last year she entered the final but sadly faced a disappointing loss against Madison Keys. As a result, this season, Kasatkina, with the aim of overpowering her opponents, has her techniques on-court clear in her head. For her, utilizing her strategy and being consistent on-court is the only way to achieve success. Further adding, the 27-year-old player stated her techniques that she uses on-court.

“So, more balls you will put inside the court more difficult is for the opponent and in this one I’m not too bad like to run and to like as much as you can it’s uh it’s something I enjoy. So I think that’s also I can change your rhythm.” Daria Kasatkina has made her stance clear about her grass-court strategy for the season.

On the other hand, the former U.S. Open champion, Raducanu, who is finding back her form on grass this season, stepped into the tournament after a semifinal defeat in the Nottingham Open. However, Raducanu, whose 2023 season ended early due to her ankle and wrist injury, added how she intends to improve for the better.

“I think I just dealt with the circumstances badly. Yeah, I was very inflexible in my approach. But physically I’m in a really good spot. I’m fine. I just need to learn to be more willing to adapt,” the Brit further added after the match. Although Raducanu’s journey ended in the quarterfinals, Daria Kasatkina, with or without the windy conditions, went on to defeat Paolini in her next match. After winning the semifinals, Kasatkina’s confidence naturally went high!

Daria Kasatkina reveals how she is “always finding a way to come back in the match”

When the sixth seed, Daria Kasatkina, entered the court to defend Paolini, the Russian tennis pro had her strategies ready! Kasatkina, who has not won against the French Open semifinalist since 2019, extended her head-to-head count to 3-3 over the Italian player and won the match! However, the match that went on for over 2 hours was not easy.

Speaking about it, Kasatkina said, “It’s never easy to come to a tournament where you have to defend a lot of (ranking) points, but I’m really happy that I was able to play good and enjoy myself on court, always finding a way to come back in the match.”  The journey is far from over for Daria Kasatkina.

Now, she has a bigger battle to face as she prepares to take on Leylah Fernandez in the final match. And like a humble winner, she extended her praise for her upcoming opponent, highlighting her game play. Kasatkina added, “Grass suits Leylah very good. Her game, she’s a very aggressive player, always trying to stay inside (the court).”

As she moves on with her game, hopefully she establishes her power on-court and turns all the weather conditions into her favor!