Kasatkina opens up on pressure of defending points

NEW YORK — Last year was a successful one for Russia's Daria Kasatkina. She cracked the Top 50 for the first time, reaching the semifinals in St. Petersburg, the quarterfinals in Indian Wells and Rio and appearing in the third round of the first three majors she played in.

But, at the US Open that year, she was ousted by Qiang Wang in the first round. That may have been a low point then, but it's actually helped her this week. She got to avenge that loss over Qiang on Wednesday, again facing her in the opening round.

The 20-year-old dropped the first set, but stormed back for a 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-3 win, avoiding a terrible bout of déjà vu.

Though she won her first WTA title in Charleston this year, the 2017 season has been a struggle for Kasatkina. After finishing 2016 at No. 27, Kasatkina is down to No. 38. The youngster has been adapting to the often herculean task of defending points after a great year.

"I had a lot of challenges this year," Kasatkina said. "Not only the [ankle]. Last year was quite successful for me, so start this year with all the pressure on myself. I put pressure on myself, of course. Who else?"

On top of the struggles of defending big-time points for the first time, Kasatkina suffered a scary ankle injury in Rome in May. She still reached the third round of the French Open weeks later.

"I was playing with a lot of pressure. It was tough to go on court and defend points," Kasatkina said. "That's also difficult and then I got injured. So it was everything in one year."

None of that matters much now, as she's already moved past her point defense duties in New York. She faces Christina McHale in the second round.