Daria Kasatkina has spoken exclusively with Ubitennis following her 7-5, 6-2, win over Sara Errani in the third round of the Rio Olympic Games.
The 19-year-old Russian, who defeated top 10 players Venus Williams and Roberta Vinci earlier this year, overcame a testing opening set before taking advantages of her opponents tentative serve.
It was a dream start to the match for Kasatkina as she grabbed the first break of the match in the second game of the opening set to race out to a 3-0 lead. The early lead was short lived as Errani battled her way back to level proceedings at 3-3. This trend continued throughout the majority of the opening set as both players struggled to remain dominant in their service games. Errani got another break at 4-4 before dropping her serve in the next game. Then at 5-5, Kasatkina saved two break points before holding her serve to nudge ahead. The young Russian player got the decisive break in the 12th game to win the first set 7-5.
Proceedings in the second set was much more straightforward for the world No.27. Dismantaling Errani’s serve with ease, Kasatkina broke the Italian four consecutive times to progress to the last eight at the Olympics. The win was seal with a forehand cross-court winner from the Russian.
During her impressive win, Kasatkina produced three aces, converted 7/11 break points and won 53% of her service points. The delighted Russian spoke with Ubitennis boss, Ubaldo Scanagatta, shortly after her win.
In the last eight, the unseeded player will play Madison Keys. Seventh seed Keys progressed to the last eight after edging past Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in three sets. The upcoming quarter-final will be the first meeting between the two rising stars.
