“I remember that 10 years ago I came to the Kremlin Cup tournament as a little girl and dreamed of standing on the court with this trophy, and here I am”, said Daria Kasatkina
The women’s singles final was held on Saturday, October 20, at the Olympiysky. ‘Daria Kasatkina’ the Russian Tennis Star outplayed Tunisian ‘Ons Jabeur’ in a tough match – 2/6, 7/6 (7/3), 6/4.
In the first set the Russian looked nervous while her opponent played relaxed, so ‘Jabeur’ clearly dominated in the first set – 6/2. In the second Kasatkina changed her tactics and started playing defensively which brought results. Finally ‘Jabeur’, who was playing her 8th match in the tournament, couldn’t stand the pressure and started having cramps when she was serving at 4/5, so Daria calmly won the match.
At the award ceremony ‘Ons Jabeur’ congratulated ‘Daria Kasakina’ and thanked her team for support: “I really fell in love with this tournament. It is my career first final at a WTA Premier event. It really means a lot to me”. The Tunisian player also said in Russian: «Ya tebia liubliu” (“I love you”) adressing her husband who is half Russian.
Daria Kasatkina thanked her team in her emotional speech, highlighting the role of her coach Philippe Dehaes: “I remember that 10 years ago I came to the Kremlin Cup tournament as a little girl and dreamed of standing on the court with this trophy, and here I am” said the Russian Tennis star.
This victory positioned Daria to become the first alternate player at the WTA Finals in Singapore.