Google News Daria Kasatkina on how she coped with brutal AO exit: 30 minutes of crying in shower
by DZEVAD MESIC
Daria Kasatkina revealed she had a 30-minute crying session in the shower after a surprise and disappointing Australian Open first-round loss to Varvara Gracheva. Kasatkina, who was hoping to make a strong Australian Open run, was ousted by 84th-ranked Gracheva 6-1 6-1 in just around 50 minutes of play.
But Kasatkina didn't get out on the court when initially scheduled as the heat and rain delayed the match for 24 hours. The waiting game drained Kasatkina emotionally and mentally and when she came out on the court, she felt flat and empty "For me it was tough to handle being two days focused waiting for my match.
My opponent maybe had a little bit less pressure, but anyway she handled the situation better. You always learn from these things. Many athletes show how they can be stronger in their minds, I’m still on the way," Kasatkina told the Roland Garros website.
Kasatkina: 30 minutes of crying in the shower, the next day it's better
"As always, 30 minutes crying in the shower and next day it’s a bit better. You’re empty but still it takes one or two days after losses like this, tournaments like this.
Anyway you always have expectations, you want to win, in the big tournaments especially, I have a goal, I realised I can do much better on the big events and of course it’s a goal; plus it’s a little bit of pressure and of course when you didn’t do as you wanted, as you prepared, of course you’re disappointed and it takes a few days.
But it’s normal. Almost like a break-up, you need a little bit of time to recover and start to love the things you do again," Kasatkina added. Meanwhile, Kasatkina is competing in this month's Middle East swing. After losing to Qinwen Zheng in the Abu Dhabi quarterfinal last week, Kasatkina also competed in Doha this week - where she was beaten by Beatriz Haddad Maia in the round-of-16. Next week, Kasatkina is playing in Dubai.