"As Daniil Medvedev said, better to play 3 finals than to lose 3 first rounds" - Daria Kasatkina jokes after Abu Dhabi final loss to Elena Rybakina

Daria Kasatkina took solace in Daniil Medvedev's words after her loss in the Abu Dhabi Open final to Elena Rybakina on Sunday (February 11).

Kasatkina lost 6-1, 6-4 in the summit clash, recording nine double faults and no aces as compared to her Kazakh opponent's two and three, respectively. She also won just 46% of the points on her first serve and gave Rybakina 10 break point opportunities.

Following her loss, Kasatkina recalled Medvedev's words after the latter's 2024 Australian Open final loss to Jannik Sinner. She said in her post-match interview in Abu Dhabi, via Sky Sports:

"To lose finals is not a nice thing but as Daniil Medvedev said after Australian Open, it's better to play three finals than to lose three first rounds. So I'll take that. It's his birthday today by the way, happy birthday."

Medvedev, who turned 28 on February 11, 2024, led Sinner by two sets in the Melbourne final last month before losing 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. He has now lost five of the six Grand Slam finals he has played in.

Kasatkina, meanwhile, lost her second final this season after losing in the Adelaide International final to Jelena Ostapenko. The former's Australian Open campaign, however, was disappointing by her standards. The World No. 14 beat Peyton Stearns in the first round before being knocked out of the competition in the following match against Sloane Stephens.

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A look at Daria Kasatkina's run at the Abu Dhabi Open

Daria Kasatkina at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open - Day 7

Daria Kasatkina entered the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi Open as the seventh seed and beat France's Diane Parry in the first round in three sets.

Kasatkina then made light work of Ashlyn Krueger in the following match, winning 6-3, 7-5 before dismantling Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-0 in the third round. The 26-year-old next faced Beatriz Haddad Maia in the semi-finals and secured a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2) win over the sixth seed.

Kasatkina, however, fell at the final hurdle. She lost to Elena Rybakina in a match that lasted just one hour and 11 minutes, with the latter taking a 3-2 lead in their head-to-head record. The Russian barely has time to catch her breath as she is now set to face compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the Qatar Open first round on Monday (February 12).

This will be Kasatkina's seventh appearance at the event, where she hasn't found much luck over the years. Her best finish came in the 2017 edition, when she made it all the way to the quarter-finals before losing to Monica Puig in three sets.