In one of the best straight-sets tennis matches in 2018, eventual champion #AngeliqueKerber triumphed over the crafty #DariaKasatkina in a high-quality quarterfinal thriller on the Centre Court of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, one of the most iconic courts of tennis. The German had to endure through a tough one hour and 29-minutes to prevail over the Russian with a tight 6-3, 7-5 scoreline.
Kasatkina was being more aggressive than usual — although not so much in the first set. The Russian fired 33 winners but as she went for the lines and the risky shots, the 14th seed also committed a total of 31 unforced errors. Kerber, with her usual solid counter-punching game, only managed to find 16 winners but she produced only 14 errors which was her key to success at #Wimbledon this year.
This win proved to be extremely important for Kerber, who ended up as the eventual champion of Wimbledon having defeated Serena Williams in a surprisingly straightforward final. This was Kasatkina’s second consecutive Major quarterfinal, and the Russian ultimately finished inside the top-10 by the end of 2018.
Kerber edges the tight opening set
Early unforced errors from both players caused the first game to be a little tricky — with Kerber having to save a break point, though with the help from a backhand sent long from Kasatkina, and eventually overcoming her early nerves to hold serve. The Russian was struggling with her serve, producing two unfortunate double-faults which saw her fall behind an early 2-0 deficit.
Within a blink of an eye, the German consolidated the break to love for a commanding 3-0 lead and Kasatkina looked all over the place, unable to find her groove. More aggressive and fearless play from the youngster allowed her to get onto the scoreboard, although she failed to find an opening on the return.
Kerber was playing some flawless tennis and Kasatkina found herself in some serious trouble when she conceded two break point opportunities serving down 1-4. Unexpectedly, the 14th seed fought back in style and came up with the best reply possible — three consecutive forehand winners, an ace, before a terrific backhand winner sent her back into contention.
It started a series of good points for Kasatkina, who just could not miss anything currently. She came out of nowhere to break back and return on serve, although she was unable to keep up her high level of tennis as her confidence on her serve was dealt with a huge blow; throwing in consecutive double-faults to hand back the favour immediately. This time, Kerber comfortably served out the opening set 6-3 after 33 minutes of action.
Kerber claims the thrilling win
A quick exchange of service holds started the second set but it was Kasatkina, expectedly, the first to blink in this tight contest. A slew of unforced errors by the Russian was enough for Kerber to earn the breakthrough and lead by a set and a break, causing the match to seem all but over.
Riding on her momentum, Kerber relied on her powerful forehands and solid backhands to steer towards a comfortable 3-1 lead by consolidating the break without any hassle. Kasatkina knew her forte was her forehands — and she learnt how to manipulate those shots eventually. She produced some monstrous winners and claimed a confidence-boosting hold, and it completely ruined Kerber’s momentum as she became increasingly passive, while on the other hand, Kasatkina was controlling the proceedings.
It was a run of six consecutive breaks as neither of them seemed to be able to produce some outstanding serving display — and Kerber failed to serve out the match once in the process. However, the last game of the match at 6-3, 6-5, could well possibly be the best of the sport this year.
Kerber earned two match points at 40-15 up, but that was when Kasatkina started to lift her spirits and attempt a spirited comeback. The first match point was saved when the Russian threw in a dropshot and the German failed to return it into the court. Kasatkina proceeded to fire a stunning forehand winner to return level.
Kerber sent a backhand into the net on her third match point, but Kasatkina threw in a ridiculous dropshot winner to save the fourth. The dropshots just kept coming from the talented youngster as Kerber just could not close out the match. Finally, on Kerber’s seventh match point, she was able to produce a firing down-the-line forehand which ultimately sealed the match for her after a tough struggle.
What they said: Kasatkina and Kerber reflects on an impressive run and terrific victory respectively
“I think the whole match was really good. I think we both play on a really high level, starting from the first point. Yeah, I think the last game shows how good we played both and how she was fighting until the end. I think that's the matches why we are here and why we are trying to playing our best. Yeah, I'm happy that I won it at the end in two sets,” Kerber mentioned during her post-match press conference. She seemed especially delighted with her win, as it came against such a tough opponent who would not let loose at any point in time.
The key to victory was definitely a positive mindset, according to the German herself. “I think it's just what I was trying today: staying positive, staying in the match. Even she was playing good at the end, I think it was on a high level, the quality of the game, I was trying to, yeah, to playing every point each, especially the last one, where I had maybe the sixth or seventh match point, just going forward, trying to keep her moving a little bit more.”
In her first appearance in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, Kasatkina enjoyed the experience and atmosphere, “The atmosphere on the Centre Court of Wimbledon, in this beautiful corridor, all the stuff around, you really feel like you're part of this great event.” She was also full of praise for her opponent, who defeated her twice on grass this year. “She was playing really amazing, even better than two weeks ago in the Eastbourne. I think it was really, really good match. We pushed our best. At the end she was better.”
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