Rising stars sizzle
Aday that began with the news of Petra Kvitova’s withdrawal from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships ended on a very positive note, offering a glimpse into the future of the women’s game.
Daria Kasatkina is a 20-yearold Russian who adores Lionel Messi’s Barcelona for their captivating passing game.
Kasatkina isn’t quite the player that would send aesthetes into dreamlands, but her solid, aggressive game from the baseline was too good for former Dubai champion Agnieszka Radwańska on Monday.
The 28-year-old Radwanska, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2012, found Kasatkina’s shotmaking and variations too hot to handle in her 7-5 6-4 defeat on the opening day of the Dubai tennis championships.
“I think she (Kasatkina) can do everything on the court. She has got very good hands, very good touch. She can mix it up. So obviously I think that’s what makes her very difficult opponent,” Radwanska said after losing the onehour-56-minute battle.
Kasatkina then revealed the secret to her success against the 2012 Dubai champion on Monday.
“I was just ready for this. Everybody knows that Aga, she’s a tricky player. She can play, like, unbelievable winner from any part of the court, doesn’t matter where. So I was kind of ready for that,” the Russian said.
“I was just trying to focus only on my shots. If she hit some unbelievable shot, I tried not to put too much attention to that.”
Japanese wild card Naomi Osaka then entered the Centre Court to put Kristina Mladenovic, the eight seed from France, to the sword.
The 20-year-old Osaka’s relentless aggression from the baseline never gave Mladenovic any chance to put up a fight as the Frenchwoman went down in straight sets 6-2 6-2 in just 70 minutes.
“Well, I just tried to stay really positive throughout the whole thing. I know she can be really tricky, so I just didn’t really want to, like, show that I was frustrated ‘cause then she probably would have, like, upped her game,” Osaka later told reporters.
The world number 48 said she loved playing on fast courts – like the one they have here in Dubai.
“I think for me faster courts are better than slower courts, so I enjoy that.
“But I also think, I don’t know, this is, like, my first time playing a night match here, I think. I was just really having fun and enjoying it,” she said.
In the first match of the day, Russian Elena Vesnina had to dig deep into her reserves to beat Shuai Peng of China 6-4 7-5.
But the most dramatic first round match on the opening day was played on Court One.
Russian Ekaterina Makarova needed two hours and 26 minutes to overcome the challenge of Latvian Anastasija Sevastova 3-6 7-6 (11/9) 6-3.
Meanwhile, Sara Errani, the 2016 Dubai champion, entered the main draw after winning her final qualifying game against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (6-2 1-6 7-6 (7/4).
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com