Aussie's wedding to take away Wimbledon exit blues

By Ian Chadband
Daria Kasatkina
Daria Kasatkina became the last Australian woman to exit Wimbledon after defeat by Naomi Osaka. -AP

Daria Kasatkina has revealed she'll have the perfect way of getting a humbling Wimbledon exit out of her system - when she gets married to her long-time girlfriend in Greece after the Championships.

Naomi Osaka had put on the familiar fashion show, then served up another grass-court tennis super show to match, as she overpowered Australia's last female hope Kasatkina 6-1 6-3 on No.1 Court on Friday.

Kasatkina, who summoned up all her old wiles to try to stop the juggernaut of winners but was eventually overwhelmed in just 65 minutes, admitted she'd enjoyed the latest Osaka fashion creation and acknowledged things were looking good for the four-time grand slam champion to enjoy a serious assault on the title.

As for her own performance, the 29-year-old reckoned she could have done little more to halt the Japanese superstar but she now had the ideal way of putting the defeat quickly behind her.

Asked what was next on her agenda post-Wimbledon, she surprised reporters by saying: "I've got my wedding, our wedding. I'm really looking forward to it.

"That's great, though, isn't it? You know, a break from tennis. Honestly, like, really looking forward to it, like something really, really different."

Kasatkina and partner, professional figure skater Natalia Zabiiako, who've been together since 2022 and collaborate on a popular YouTube channel about life on the WTA tour, announced their engagement last year.

"We're gonna have about 40 people at the wedding in Athens, we've been working on this for like a year. I hope guests are gonna like it; a few of them who are playing here will be coming along afterwards," Russian-born Kasatkina said.

The wedding will take place in the Greek capital while a WTA event is being staged there the week after Wimbledon finishes.

There must be something in the air as Australia's No.1 men's player Alex de Minaur's wedding date with British star Katie Boulter is also being reported as being set for later this month.

Kasatkina's exit means de Minaur is in the familiar position of being the last Australian left of 13 starters in the singles draws. He plays American Zachary Svajda in the third round on Saturday.

But this was Osaka's day, a day for her to remind us that it's time people started talking more about her tennis again than the fashion.

She entered No.1 Court in her latest showstopping outfit, having dispensed with the kimono and obi and opting instead for flowing full-length, blossom-patterned coat -- and Kasatkina smiled that your tennis has to be pretty good to match that sort of entrance.

It was!

For Osaka really did then offer an impression of her supreme Grand Slam-winning best as she set up a mouth-watering last-16 date with Aryna Sabalenka.

"I'm really happy - I've never actually won on this court. I'm just really glad to have made a really good memory here," said 28-year-old four-time major winner Osaka, who's playing her best tennis since returning from her maternity break two-and-a-half years ago.

"I definitely felt really good today," she added, while finding time to praise Kasatkina's valiant effort to make a match of it in the second set when she battled back to 3-3, only for Osaka to lift her game another notch.

Good judges like former Australian star Alicia Molik now think she has a genuine shot at winning her first grand slam since lifting the Australian Open crown in 2021.

Osaka also seems in a happy place both on and off the course, as she had the crowd laughing afterwards with tales of how her daughter had been a bit naughty on her third birthday during a visit to the park on the eve of the match.

"It was an awesome birthday," smiled Osaka. "She blew out her candles. She made a wish — I hope her wish is to behave better."