Kasatkina bags first match as Aussie in Charleston; Navarro wins
Daria Kasatkina bags her first match for Australian at the Charleston Open on Wednesday, while Emma Navarro also advanced.
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KASATKINA BAGS FIRST MATCH AS AN AUSTRALIAN AT CHARLESTON OPEN, BEATS DAVIS
Kasatkina bags her first match as an Australian at Charleston after she defeated home bet Lauren Davis, 6-1, 6-1.
Furthermore, the 27-year-old Russian born world No.12 has been playing as a neutral athlete.
Moreover, she was part of Russian and Belarussian players who were banned for playing for their respective flags after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Kasatkina was vocal in opposition for Russia’s invasion before declaring her preference to play for Australia.
Her application for permanent residency has been accepted by the Australian government on Friday.
‘DANGEROUS FOR ME TO GO HOME’ CITED AS REASON FOR LEAVING RUSSIA FOR GOOD
Kasatkina acknowledged that she decided to leave Russia for good because it was “dangerous for me to go home.”
Moreover, the fifth seed in Charleston also came out as gay, making it a tense situation for her to make such a return to her native country.
Furthermore, she admitted that she “couldn’t keep hiding,” which prompted to her to transfer to another country.
“Right now, it’s dangerous for me to go home, given the current regime. As a gay person who opposes the war, going back simply isn’t possible. But I don’t regret it for even a second,” Kasatkina said.
“I couldn’t keep hiding. I needed to speak up about my position on the war and my sexual orientation,” she added.
NAVARRO WINS; PEGULA ALSO ADVANCES
Navarro and fellow American Jessica Pegula hurdled their respective opponents to also advance.
Furthermore, Navarro took out compatriot Hailey Baptiste, 6-4, 6-3.
Moreover, Pegula held off Belarus’ Iryna Shymanovich, 6-0, 6-3.
The 2024 US Open finalist swept Shymanovich in the opening set but found her serve broken in the second set.
However, the world No.4 held firm to unsteady her Belarussian opponent in the key moments to set up a third round matchup against Alija Tomljanovic of Australia.
