“Not a good thing but..” Daria Kasatkina reflects on Daniil Medvedev’s wisdom after a straight set loss against Elena Rybakina in Abu Dhabi

After a great Abu Dhabi campaign, Kasatkina suffered an early exit at the Qatar Open.

“Not a good thing but..” Daria Kasatkina reflects on Daniil Medvedev’s wisdom after a straight set loss against Elena Rybakina in Abu Dhabi

Daria Kasatkina and Daniil Medvedev (Image via Imago/X)

Daria Kasatkina recently quoted fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev‘s wisdom following her loss to Elena Rybakina in the final of the Abu Dhabi Open. The Russian lost to Rybakina 1-6, 4-6 a painful defeat on Sunday.

Kasatkina had played one of her best tournaments. She had defeated Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the semifinals, which lasted for nearly three hours. The Russian was hoping for a title as the last time she got to a WTA final was at Eastbourne, where she lost to Madison Keys. However, that didn’t happen against a formidable Elena Rybakina.

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Despite the loss, the Russian reflected on Medvedev’s wise words after he lost the Australian Open title to Jannik Sinner last month. Daniil Medvedev, who had been to multiple Grand Slam finals, said it was better to lose in the final than the first round.

Losing in the final is not a good thing but as Daniil Medvedev said after the Australian Open, it is better to play 3 finals than to lose 3 times in the first round.
Daria Kasatkina post her finals loss at Abu Dhabi

Daria Kasatkina is hoping to add another silverware to her already six ATP singles titles, as her next tournament will be at Indian Wells.

Daria Kasatkina suffers early exit in Doha

After a good outing in Abu Dhabi, Kasatkina lost to fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round of the 2024 Qatar Open in Doha. The unseeded Pavlyuchenko defeated Kasatkina 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) and should face Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the second round.

Daria Kasatkina
Daria Kasatkina (Credits: Yahoo Sports UK)

Following the loss, Kasatkina complained about a congested WTA schedule that doesn’t give players enough time to rest after each tournament. The Russian had a mere 24 hours to rest and prepare for the Qatar Open after the Abu Dhabi title loss.

It's terrible scheduling, honestly. I have a question, I don't know to whom, to WTA or the tournaments, like, are you guys trying to make players die, or to get injured often?

The poor scheduling gave her no chance against Pavlyuchenko. The 26-year-old is currently ranked 13th in the women’s ranking. Her best result in a major tournament to date was at the 2022 French Open where she reached the semifinals.

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