VIKING INTERNATIONAL

June 23, 2021

Daria Kasatkina

Devonshire Park

Press Conference

D. KASATKINA/I. Swiatek

4-6, 6-0, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Well done. Just talk us through the match. Just explain what made the difference today, especially in those second two sets for you.

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, in the first set, Iga start really well, and she was really quick 3-0 in the first set, so I think at the end, that was the difference, that I started a little bit slow.

But then I just found the way, how to move, how to play. I changed a little bit the way I was playing. That was the key also. I was holding my serve well in the second and third set, and I was trying to push more on the returns, very important on grass courts.

Q. If my memory is correct, when you first played on grass for the first time, first time you saw it, first time you stepped foot on it, you were not convinced that this was real, right?

DARIA KASATKINA: Yeah. It was in juniors. I was playing juniors Wimbledon. I mean, I had no idea how to play, how to move, what to do on this surface. I had no coach at that time who could explain me, like, what to do, like, how to move properly and stuff.

I was just like suffering. I was, I don't know, a cow on the grass. That's it. I didn't know how to play.

But then when I came back as a professional with the coach, he explained me better what I have to do, how I have to play. Yeah, I think it's getting better than it used to be in juniors.

Q. Do you like it? I mean, I know you're getting good results on it. Obviously Birmingham, and you played a great match today, we see you at Wimbledon playing well. Do you like playing on grass?

DARIA KASATKINA: Actually, yes, I like playing on grass. I like to move on grass. Sometimes it's a little bit difficult because, you know, grass, you don't have that much stability. But for me it's fine.

I don't know. I like how the ball is coming to me. I like how the atmosphere is. So I really enjoy the grass court swing.

Q. In terms of your development as a player on grass to where, you know, you seem pretty confident, even if you still want to improve, what were the key things that you learned the last few years to be able to play your tennis on grass?

DARIA KASATKINA: There was a stereotype on grass that the game is different, that you have to change a lot, you have to play real aggressive and this kind of stuff. Maybe before it was like that, because also the grass was faster, I heard. I don't know.

But now you can play points on grass. You can play rallies, you can run. You can, you know, spin, you can kick. So at the end it's tennis. Tennis is tennis everywhere. That's what I learn past of these few years I was playing on grass that there is nothing you can be afraid of when you go on grass.

Maybe you have to little bit change the footwork, because I saw yesterday Marketa Vondrousova was sliding on grass, and I just made like (sign of the cross). (Laughter.) That's not for me. You have to be really -- I mean, me, I'm a bit more careful with the steps.

But at the end, maybe I just play a little bit more aggressive, but I'm not changing the game like completely just because I change the surface.

Q. With your great run in Birmingham and then now, you know, back into the quarterfinals here, how are you feeling during this very short grass season? Seems like you have been able to transition really well.

DARIA KASATKINA: Yeah, well, in Birmingham the beginning was not that well, because I was losing in the first round, pretty bad set and (indiscernible) down. But after that match, everything went completely different, like it can in tennis, but in woman's tennis especially.

Yeah, when you are winning the matches like this, the confidence grows. And also every day is a different day, different match. Every day you spend on grass is good, because you got more and more confidence, you feel better, you understand more.

Also, compared to Birmingham, the grass here is a little bit different, so I need to -- yesterday, the beginning I couldn't understand exactly what I have to change, but then during the match I understood the little difference here.

The tennis is about adaptation. Who adapts better wins. This is what tennis is about (smiling). Tour, actually, tour.

Q. The documentary that came out a few months ago, you seemed very pleased with it. It was great. I watched it with the subtitles and everything and learned a lot. I'm curious, for you, what were you so pleased with about the documentary, or proud of?

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, first of all I want to thank everyone who was involved in this documentary, because it took a lot of work. These guys, they come to my city and they spend all day together with me, which was amazing.

I was happy to make this documentary, because I had things inside myself which I was happy to share with the people and to tell this, like, what I have been through and to like if I could make the people understand better as the tennis players, it's always great, because you cannot -- they just see us playing. That's the thing. They cannot see exactly who we are, what we are going through, like we have exactly the same problems like everyone. But they see only the screen.

I was happy to share that my problems, my thoughts, like, the problems have been going through so the people understand us better. I think also for the people, spectators, it's nice to see the other part of the mettle, like not only us competing but also us living our lives and everything.

I think it was nice experience. I hope many people liked it.

Q. Were you nervous at all about being as honest as you were? Because there is a lot of tough questions being asked, whether it's about finances, sometimes players don't like to talk about money, personal life, all these sorts of things. Were you nervous or were you comfortable with being that open?

DARIA KASATKINA: I don't have much secrets, so I have been really open and happy to share that. Also Sonya, who was asking me the questions, we are friends. So I was just talking to her like normal, which makes it much better to make the interviews like this when you know the person.

Yeah. I know that in many countries to talk about money it's like a little bit private thing, and normally you don't ask these things. In Russia, we're more, we like to talk about money, we like to ask these questions. Yeah, so if you see many interviews in Russia, everyone is asking this question, how much you earn, how much you spend, all these things, so, yeah, we are interested about that. So it's okay.