Daria Kasatkina recalls Wimbledon match after which Ashleigh Barty transformed career
by DZEVAD MESIC
Daria Kasatkina admitted Ashleigh Barty's meltdown in their 2018 Wimbledon match was somewhat understandable since pretty much all the luck was on her side. In her memoir My Dream Time, Barty revealed that the 2018 Wimbledon loss to Kasatkina forced her to do a deep analysis and reflection on how she was doing things.
Then between 2019 and 2022, Barty won three Grand Slams and reached the world No 1 spot. Barty was still considered the best player in the game when she shockingly announced her retirement last March. "I remember that match.
I would be the same attitude because I had seven or eight net rolls on the deuce, or break points, or 30-30. I know how she was feeling. I was a bit lucky. It was a good match but luck was on my side so I understand what she mean.
Everyone can say thanks to me that after that Ash was a big pain in the ass for everyone," Kasatkina told Reem Abulleil.
Ash Barty wrote in her book that a Wimbledon loss to Daria Kasatkina was her rock bottom and it forced her to reexamine her whole approach to the game and her career.
It ultimately led to Barty's transformation.
I asked Kasatkina about that match... pic.twitter.com/P4XbrW9HiS — Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) February 8, 2023
What did Barty wrote about the Kasatkina Wimbledon match?
In the 2018 Wimbledon third round, Kasatkina handed Barty a 7-5 6-3 loss.
During the match, Barty had a major meltdown and afterward felt "embarrassed and ashamed." “This crisis has been brewing for months, remaining largely invisible to everyone but those in my inner sanctum, but now it spills over in the very public spotlight of the British grass-court season.
The issue is that my good is great, but my bad is horrible. When I’m winning, I look like a million bucks but when my tactics aren’t working, I lack the maturity to solve my own problems. I’m a 22-year-old highly trained professional athlete, but in this moment I decide on a public tantrum," Barty wrote in her book.
Also in her book, Barty revealed that she was disgusted “not just (at) losing the match and losing my s---, but losing my dignity too. I shun my closest supporters and cry myself to sleep that night, embarrassed and ashamed”.