Kasatkina makes it to her first major semi final at French Open, beats Kudermetova

Daria Kasatkina advanced to the final four for the first time in her 26th appearance at a major after defeating Kudermetova.

Daria Kasatkina in a file pic (Credit: Twitter)
By Niranjan Shivalkar | Jun 1, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Seed No. 20 Daria Kasatkina advanced to her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros on Wednesday, defeating No. 29 seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 7-6(5). Kasatkina, a former Top 10 player, advanced to the final four for the first time in her 26th appearance at a major after defeating Kudermetova in 2 hours and 8 minutes.

Entering on a high

Both players were in excellent form when they arrived in Paris. Kasatkina came close to reaching the Rome final two weeks ago before losing to Ons Jabeur, and she began the day with 22 match victories, the sixth most on the circuit. Kudermetova, who reached three finals this year, finished second in 2022 with 20 match victories. It is very evident that Kasatkina has been playing some quality tennis and is in some serious kind of form.

Kasatkina’s record

Daria Kasatkina, on the other hand, had dominated the French Open for the past two weeks, conceding only 14 games on approach to the quarterfinals. Only Mary Pierce (13 games lost in 2000), Dinara Safina (five games lost in 2009), and Serena Williams (five games lost in 2013) have lost less games inching closer to the Roland Garros semifinals this century (10 games lost). Coming into the game and the tournament with such a record without a doubt will keep one at the top with massive confidence.

Read more: French Open 2022: Rafael Nadal schools Novak Djokovic to enter semi-finals

Unbeatable Kasatkina

The Seed No. 20, Daria Kasatkina also had a spotless record against fellow 25-year-old Kudermetova going into the match. Kasatkina had defeated Kudermetova in their only prior tour-level match last season, on her route to the St. Petersburg championship, and Kasatkina had previously won their three junior meetings between 2011 and 2013. It is not very difficult to guess that Kasatkina had a massive upper hand entering into the contest and she also made the complete use of that advantage.

Kasatkina’s last two Grand Slam quarter final appearances saw her lose to Sloane Stephens at Roland Garros in 2018 and Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon in 2018. This win will prove quite crucial for the Russian. Kasatkina will face either Jessica Pegula or World No.1 Iga Swiatek ahead in the tournament.





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