At Sydney in January I previewed Daria Kasatkina's match up with then world #1 Angelique Kerber, talking about the Russian's self belief and as "hungry" and a quick learner..........
 

Serena saw off her opponent with great ease and in double quick time, but I am certain she will face sterner opposition today and regardless of what happens this week, I am sure that we will be hearing an awful lot more about Daria Kasatkina, who looks the real deal. Kasatkina is only 18 yo, but has been pestering the life out of her coach and team to let her turn pro for a couple of years and when she started to see what Belinda Benic was doing, she could not wait any longer. After winning Junior Roland Garros last year, she entered the US Open and won five matches, winning through qualifying and into the last 32, this is now her second ever slam event and it is clear they hold few fears for her. In the interim, she has already got her ranking up to #69 by winning six matches in Moscow and beating Venus Williams in Auckland a couple of weeks ago, after dropping the first set on a tie break, which tells you much about her battling qualities and she is not going to wilt like most other 18 yo newcomers would on this stage, playing an all time great.

Dasha thinks she is better than Benic, she might not say so in as many words, but it is clear from interviews and this is a confident young woman: “I was a little bit upset when Bencic started to play earlier and she started to beat other players and showing results a little bit earlier than me."When she started to play with the pros, I was still playing juniors and I was talking with my coach telling him ‘I want to play pro, I want to start to play pro, why am I still playing juniors (?) and he told me like ‘Dasha, be cool, you just have to get some experience from everywhere and really, the experience from juniors, it was great. "A lot of experience and good memories, I don’t regret it.”  Benic is obviously a "fan" and said that "Kasatkina has a very different game, she plays smarter than the other players.”

She got a spanking that day, but made the third round there and also at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and ended the year #26 and is the only one of those newbie Russians who really kicked on in 2016 and she will surely continue to do so. Not entirely sure she is up to beating World #1 Angelique Kerber just yet, but it might be easier here than at a more high profile event. The two have met before, at the Canadian Masters last summer, when Kerber won 2 & 2 and the Russian was nervous and started and served poorly. However, towards the end of last season she faced Keys, Muguruza and (Karolina)Pliskova and took each to three sets on hard courts, two to 34 games and is clearly ready to do battle now with the "names" on Tour. She is 6-1 against lefties , only dropping one set and more than three games twice in the six matches she won, the loss coming in that match up with today's opponent. Kasatkina has stepped up in her second meeting against almost all of the top players she has faced, it is a learning process and she likely to again improve and possibly take this to two close, or even a third set.
 

Kasatkina won that 7-6 6-2 and then beat Kerber again in Doha and she has all the potential you could wish for. Those wins are of extra importance today, as Pliskova, unlike her twin sister, is a leftie like Kerber. Kas is 8-1 against left handed players, her only loss was early to Kerber and she has avenged that in two subsequent meetings, six of those eight wins came in two sets and that is how I am taking her to win this. She showed a liking for Indian Wells last season reaching the quarters and has plenty of points to defend, tough match up next, possibly with Cibulkova and she will want this done and dusted asap.

 

1.25 units Daria Kasatkina to win 2-0 in sets 2.25 Pinnacle/Sportmarket Pro.