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Kasatkina into maiden Grand Slam semi-final at French Open / Photo: © AFP
Kasatkina into maiden Grand Slam semi-final at French Open
Daria Kasatkina reached her maiden Grand Slam semi-final on Wednesday with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) victory over fellow Russian, Veronika Kudermetova.
The 25-year-old Kasatkina, ranked at 20, will face either world number one Iga Swiatek or Jessica Pegula for a place in Saturday's championship match.
Kasatkina, playing in her third career quarter-final at the Slams but first since 2018, has made the semis without dropping a set.
Kudermetova was in her first quarter-final at the majors and the tension was apparent as she committed 50 unforced errors and had to save 12 of 17 break points.
"You could see that the match was really nervous and tight, especially the tie-break," said Kasatkina, a former junior champion in Paris.
"The last few points were super-tight. I'm happy at the end that I won. I'm happy to be in the semis for the first time.
She added: "My box were pretty nervous, especially at the end. Thank you guys and keep calm - it's OK!"
The 25-year-old Kudermetova needed a medical timeout at 5-6 in the second set and battled to save four match points in the tiebreak.
Kasatkina, however, secured victory on her fifth match point courtesy of a sweetly-timed backhand drop shot.
M. Taylor--BTZ
