Sabalenka addresses the comment Kasatkina made before their Berlin match.
Aryna Sabalenka burst into laughter when addressing Daria Kasatkina’s stunned reaction and an expletive dropped when asked about playing against the Belarusian tennis star as the two-time Grand Slam champion hilariously said she didn’t want to swear but that she sometimes feels the same way about playing against the Russian.
On Thursday, world No. 3 Sabalenka ousted Kasatkina 6-1 6-4 in the Berlin round-of-16. But before the match happened, the second-seeded Belarusian had a first-round bye in Berlin while Kasatkina won a three-setter versus Marta Kostyuk in the first round.
And after beating Kostyuk, Kasatkina delivered one viral moment – when asked about playing Sabalenka next, the look on the Russian tennis star’s face instantly changed and she dropped an expletive.
Going into the Berlin match, Sabalenka had a 6-2 head-to-head versus Kasatkina and she was on a three-match winning streak against the Russian.
Asked about Kasatkina’s viral moment, Sabalenka also delivered a viral moment with her response.
“Yeah I saw that and I don’t know what to say about that. But definitely it’s not like… I don’t know, should I say something about that? I just came here today, trying to bring my tennis, trying to make sure you guys enjoy watching me play. Thank you so much for the incredible atmosphere, it was really enjoyable playing in front of you,” Sabalenka said.
“And about that comment from Dasha, I’ll take it as respect. Sometimes when I see her as my next opponent I also think something similar to the word she used. I’m trying to not swear a lot (bursts into laughter). But I would sometimes the same word.”
Sabalenka teases the interviewer: You compliment me and then mention that…
Sabalenka, who became a WTA champion in 2017, currently has 15 titles in her collection. But a bit surprisingly, Sabalenka has yet to win her first grass title. However, it’s not like the Belarusian is struggling on grass as the 26-year-old has had several really deep runs on grass courts throughout her career – but just hasn’t managed to win a title yet.
After Sabalenka defeated Kasatkina to make the Berlin quarterfinal, the interviewer asked the third-ranked Belarusian: “You’ve never won a grass court title… how is that possible?”
Again, Sabalenka didn’t fail to deliver in her response.
“You’re like giving me a compliment and then you’re like ‘You’ve actually never won a grass court tournament.,'” Sabalenka said while bursting into laughter.
“As I sad earlier, I think we just have a couple of chances on grass courts. I think it’s nothing about me not liking grass courts… I really like playing on it. Especially after a clay court, where you have to play those long rallies, and have to run a lot… (On the grass) you just hope for the best serve, hope for two first good shots… It’s not like easier, but a bit shorter points.”
On Saturday, Sabalenka will meet Anna Kalinskaya in the Berlin quarterfinal – they were scheduled to meet on Friday but rain pushed the match back to Saturday.
Sabalenka’s history on the grass… Has had two deep Wimbledon runs
Sabalenka’s first great grass result came early in her career, when she made the final in Eastbourne in her tournament debut in 2018. That year, then the 20-year-old Belarusian was still trying to establish herself on the WTA Tour and she wasn’t among the favorites for the title when the tournament started.
But round by round, Sabalenka managed to clinch five three-set wins to set up an Eastbourne final versus Caroline Wozniacki. Unfortunately for Sabalenka, she didn’t have enough to also beat Wozniacki but she pushed hard the former world No. 1 before suffering a 5-7 6-7 (5) loss.
Then in the summer of 2021, Sabalenka caught fire at Wimbledon and made her first Wimbledon semifinal. At the time, the Belarusian was still seeking her first Grand Slam win and when her semifinal versus Karolina Pliskova started, she got off to a strong start and won the first set. But then, the nerves got to her and Pliskova ended up completing a 5-7 6-4 6-4 win.
12 months later, Sabalenka made her second grass final – this time in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Unlike in 2018 when Sabalenka entered as the underdog against Wozniacki, she was the favorite in the 2022 ‘s-Hertogenbosch final but still lost 5-7 0-6 to Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Last year, Sabalenka returned to the Wimbledon semifinal. But again, it ended in a brutal way for Sabalenka, who was up by a set and a break before Ons Jabeur came back to win 6-7 (6) 6-4 6-3.
It remains to be seen if this will be the year Sabalenka wins her first grass title.