The Pick: Daria Kasatkina v. Margarita Gasparyan, St. Petersburg Final
Look for Kasatkina's heavy and explosive forehand to cause problems for Gasparyan and her one-handed backhand.
Daria Kasatkina summoned some brilliant tennis after dropping the first set 6-1 in her semifinal against Svetlana Kuznetsova. The 23 year old stormed back to win the match 1-6, 6-0, 6-2, to set up a meeting with world No. 126 Margarita Gasparyan, who beat Vera Zvonereva 6-3, 7-6 (9), in the day’s first semifinal.
As of 2020, there were just 12 players in the WTA Top 300 who still used a one-handed backhand. As of today, Gasparyan may have the best one (get well soon Carla Suarez Navarro).
The conditions in St. Petersburg appear on the slow side, which has certainly helped Kasatkina’s explosive and versatile forehand. The court is accepting spin, which is great news for Kasatkina, and could be bad news for Gasparyan. There is probably not one single handed backhand user that prefers hitting an above-the-shoulder backhand to a waist-level one.
Kasatkina’s defense is always spectacular, but it’s been especially good this week. This backhand pass is a 10 out of 10.
Katakana’s lively arm has produced some phenomenal forehands all week.
According to the oddsmakers, Kasatkina is a substantial -275 favorite, and should cruise to her second career title on home soil.
The Pick: Daria Kasatkina
