Daria Kasatkina is under no illusions about how tough it will be to beat Iga Swiatek, but she believes that the pair's first meeting on clay this year will be a different match.
The 25-year-old's run to her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open has been very impressive. She is yet to drop a set at the event, including triumphs against Camila Giorgi and Veronika Kudermetova.
Her previous results against Swiatek this season do not inspire confidence though. She has already lost to the world No. 1 on three occasions in straight sets at the Australian Open, the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Open.
However, all those previous contests were on hard courts. Kasatkina will hope her strong form on clay can help her in the semifinal, despite Swiatek usually playing her best tennis on the dirt.
Kasatkina stated that she knows the match will be tough, but she is pleased that it is coming quickly, meaning she will not spend too much time thinking about how great it is to make the semifinal.
“I know that tomorrow, it's another mountain in front of me which I have to climb and that's it. I have no time to relax, I'm playing already tomorrow. Maybe it's even better that I don't have much time to think about how good it is to be in the semi-finals - I have another battle tomorrow.”
The Russian also mentioned her previous defeats this year to Swiatek, but Kasatkina feels that she was not in the same shape she is in now in those contests.
“We played a few times this year," said Kasatkina about facing Swiatek. "Okay, I lost those matches, but it was a different story. It was a hard court, beginning of the year, I was not in the same shape as I am now."
Kasatkina ended by predicting it would be a good match, and saying that unpredictable things can happen in the semifinal of a Grand Slam.
“It's going to be a completely different match. I want to win a lot, she wants to win as well, and it's going to be a good match. You never know what's going to happen in the semi-final of a Grand Slam.”
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