ROLAND GARROS

May 28, 2026

Daria Kasatkina

Press Conference

D. KASATKINA/S. Bandecchi

7-5, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Talk about your match today, how you felt on court. A tough one.

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, it felt difficult, to be honest. Because the afternoon sun, it feels even heavier than in the morning.

So, yeah, that's the conditions we got for, like, the whole week already, so I think all of the players already a bit boiled and fried, because, yeah, I mean, one thing is to play one or two days in those conditions, but then to spend the whole week still, like, practicing between the matches, some players playing doubles, you're still, like, getting this hot weather in your veins.

It's affecting, of course, so I'm really happy the way I managed this match, because it's a really tough one.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Could you run us through that extraordinary tiebreak at the end today? You couldn't put her away for so long. She was very resilient.

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, it wasn't extraordinary. It was so tight, actually. Yeah, but this always happens, you know, when the tiebreak gets, like, you know, to where is just whoever wins the points, deuce, it's either match point or set point. It's where it's getting into the jungle, and where you have to swim in the shit, like, for real (smiling).

Yeah, it was, this is like the type of the situation where it's getting really dirty because you normally don't see, like, beautiful shots, and you know, like, nobody is feeling so free to go for it, like, crazy stuff. Everybody is trying to be really safe.

This is, yeah, and it doesn't look great normally, but you're just hoping for someone to miss or you're just trying to really push yourself to, you know, make the point.

But it's, yeah, mentally it's really tough.

Q. Can I ask about your physical condition? How happy are you that you've managed to play so well under all that sort of pressure? It must be murder to play in that heat.

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, yeah, it is tough. I mean, honestly, I think we have been through, you know, tougher conditions, like some of the places, let's say Cincinnati, I think, is worse, also because it's a hard court, so it feels, like, hotter.

But, yeah, the conditions are brutal. We can see what's going on. Every, like, some guys are just, they are falling on the court, they cannot stand up after that.

So it is really tough, but yeah, especially on the Grand Slams. It's about physically you have to be, like, ready, but then also mentally, because sometimes if you're, like, tight in your head, it can affect your muscles. So even if you are fit physically, your emotions can affect your physical conditions.

So it's really important to balance those two, but it's very difficult.

Q. Challenge doesn't get any easier, potentially. I think Aryna was 5-2 up in the second set. You have played her a lot of times with a couple of wins. What's that challenge going to be like on clay here?

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, I think it's a challenge for everyone. I mean, she's a multiple Grand Slam champion, No. 1, for a reason. I think it's still going to be hot the day we gonna play, on Saturday. So that might be my advantage.

But, I mean, at the end of the day, it's going to be about how, like, I'm gonna just fight for every ball, and let's see. We also have to see how Aryna will step in the match, so, yeah, it's very tough to predict. I only know that she gonna, you know, go out there and hit very hard. And she will be hungry for the win. That's pretty much it, yeah.

Honestly, I didn't yet think about my next match, because I just finished my second round. You know, really happy with the win. I want to enjoy it. I think tomorrow is the day to really, like, start to think about what's gonna happen on Saturday.

Q. Just because we won't be able to speak to you tomorrow, I just wonder, how exciting is it for you, you have had this very difficult up-and-down year, and now you're going to be playing the World No. 1 here. Is that what you play for?

DARIA KASATKINA: Well, I, obviously, been through hard times, and being now in the situation where I am, looking back, I already played, like, quite a lot of matches in the last, I don't know, let's say three weeks, won a lot of matches out of all those, I don't know, 13, 14 matches.

So I think, I mean, this is what we were working for. This is, yeah, very important for me, because this is where I'm finding my confidence, you know, like little by little, building up my feeling on the court again.

Yeah, I mean, on Saturday it's going to be huge challenge. For sure, doesn't matter who I play in this case, we're gonna have a beautiful court. I mean, Roland Garros, one of those two courts probably. I'm really looking forward to it.