PARIS—The artist had just painted a portrait. The subject said thank you and asked how much it would cost. Said the artist: $10,000. What? But it took you less than 20 minutes. No, said the artist. It took me 40 years.
Daria Kasatkina is only 20 years old. But she too is an artist, and might well relate to the painter’s tale. Last evening, shortly before 9:30 p.m., a round of 16 match between the 14th-seeded Kasatkina and number two seed Caroline Wozniacki had been suspended. Kasatkina had won the first set, 7-6 (5). In the second set, the two were tied at 3-3.
Upon resumption this afternoon, it took Kasatkina 17 minutes to win three straight games and reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. But those 17 minutes were actually more like 17 hours, Wozniacki and Kasatkina on a ride through many of tennis’ special competitive qualities—an uncertain start time, an unscheduled new venue, day into night, an overnight delay and, of course, no idea of when the completion phase would commence. Rain had also been in the forecast.
The first twist had come late Sunday, when the combination of long matches on Court Suzanne Lenglen—where this match was originally scheduled to close out the day’s slate—and short ones on Court Philippe Chatrier triggered the need for a court change.
Said Kasatkina, “So this was a little bit weird point for me.”
Sunday night, with Chatrier thinned out following the conclusion of the Novak Djokovic-Fernando Verdasco match, Kasatkina-Wozniacki lurched off to a sluggish start. Neither held serve in the first three games, Kasatkina’s opener marred by three straight double-faults.
But by the time the two reached 6-6, the cobwebs of the long Sunday afternoon wait and the subdued atmosphere within Chatrier had been shaken off and the two were able to assert themselves in their own way. It was a set of fluid movements, deep, angled probes and intermittent darts.
Wozniacki was well aware of the web she’d fallen into.
“Any slow surface, I think, suits her, because, you know, obviously she tries to slow the pace down,” she said. “She doesn't give you two of the same balls, so she changes the pace. But she tries to slow it down, and then, once she has the opportunity, she's going to go in and hit one really hard and then slow it down again.”
It’s rare to see a pro whose last name isn’t Federer so adept at altering pace, spin, power and precision. Add to that Kasatkina’s fine serve and the problem becomes even trickier to solve. But to her credit, Wozniacki knows what it takes to stick around in a point, her superb speed, fine backhand, poise and problem-solving skills aiding her cause. In the tiebreaker, it was Wozniacki who went up 4-2. Then, in her own subtle way, Kasatkina turned up the volume, striking the ball just bigger enough to command four straight rallies that each lasted between 15 and 20 shots. Having earned a pair of set points, Kasatkina closed out the tiebreaker, 7-5.
WATCH—Match point from Kasatkina's win over Wozniacki at Roland Garros:
