Daria Kasatkina lost to Madison Keys in the 2023 Eastbourne International final, but she wasn't taking it too seriously.
The two contested the final of the last grass-court WTA 500 tournament before the WTA Tour moves to Wimbledon. It was a spectacular match and ended with Keys winning her first grass-court trophy since 2016.
But the final was a real battle. After the American won the first set 6-2, Kasatkina was serving for the second set at 6-5, and played a marathon tie-break after failing to close it out. Keys had five match points, while Kasatkina had four set points in the tie-break.
Both players had multiple chances, but the match was also influenced by a very strong wind, which often influenced the rallies, but also some of the luck with lets (when the ball hits the top part of the net and bounces on the opponent's side of the court).
After the match, Kasatkina, who is one of the most likeable players on the WTA Tour, had a runner-up speech and she address those lets, joking that Keys certainly knows what she thinks about the amount of luck that she had in the final match.
"First of all Madison, you know what I think about your luck today. But I mean, congratulations, you played amazing this week and it was a great match, and good luck at Wimbledon. And hope to, actually no, I don't hope to have many matches against you (laughing)."
After the runner-up finished her speech, it was time for the champion to take over, and Keys was also in a good mood, for obvious reasons. The American, holding the trophy in her hands, funnily apologized to her opponent for her luck in the final match.
"And again, I'm really sorry about all the lets today, genuinely."
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