Daria Kasatkina voices her opposition to trash talk in tennis, says it "won't work"
Daria Kasatkina has voiced her opposition to the idea of trash talk, stating that it would not work in tennis unlike other sports.
After a series of underwhelming results in the wake of the Australian Open, Kasatkina seems to have regained her form with a run to the semi-finals of the Charleston Open. She registered an impressive comeback win over Madison Keys (6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2) on Friday (April 7) to claim a place in the last-four.
Speaking to the Tennis Channel after her quarterfinal match, Kasatkina gave her take on the recently much-debated matter of trash talk in tennis. The World No. 8 opined that tennis is a bit "different" from other sports in this regard.
"For me, tennis is a bit different. I think it's not gonna work in my opinion. I think tennis must be a little bit on the side of it," she stated.
Further elaborating on her point, Kasatkina remarked that she has always perceived tennis as an "intelligent" sport.
"I know fighters, basketball especially in United States, very popular thing," she said. "We're not from United States. So, we're not used to it. So, I was always educated by the way that tennis is an intelligent sport. So, I will go with that."
Reflecting on her performance against Keys, Kasatkina emphasized the mental effort she put in to secure the win after dropping the opening set.
"I was there from the first point, from the beginning. I know I was 2-0 down, [but] mentally I was there," she said. "Like yeah, I'm really happy with the mental effort I've done after the first set, because it was a very tough one. I had many chances to close the set, but I couldn't. Pretty happy with the mental effort at the beginning of the second set."
Daria Kasatkina to face Ons Jabeur in the Charleston Open semifinals
Daria Kasatkina will have a strenuous task at hand when she faces Ons Jabeur in the Charleston Open semifinals on Saturday (April 8). The duo have met on six occasions on tour, with Jabeur winning four of them.
Speaking about the clash with Jabeur, Kasatkina recalled her "bad memories" from their last meeting, where she lost by the slightest of margins.
"A lot of work, she's back. I mean, it's tough. Not good memories from the last match on clay actually in Rome, losing from match point. I'll never forget that, inside-out touching like that on the match point," Kasatkina expressed.
While Daria Kasatkina is known for her capabilities on clay, she is yet to get the better of Jabeur on the surface.