"I just wanted to be here for longer. I didn't want to make her get on a plane on her birthday," said Osaka.
Kasatkina's Path to Third Round
Kasatkina secured her third-round placement against Osaka after winning a two-hour-and-37-minute match against Indonesia's Janice Tjen with a score of 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-4.
Kasatkina holds a 64 percent career win rate at Wimbledon but has not surpassed the third round since her quarterfinal appearance in 2018.
"It's obviously a very tough draw and a very tough match, especially on grass.
I never beat her before, so it's not a perfect situation for me, but also less pressure for me," said Kasatkina.
The Australian player praised Osaka's strategic compatibility with the grass surface ahead of their upcoming career encounter.
"She's got a very good serve, good shots, she's trying to attack all the time on grass. It's the best tactic on grass," said Kasatkina.
Despite entering the tournament with low self-expectations, Kasatkina noted that her mental confidence is rebuilding with each physical victory on the court.
"In tennis, it's very easy. You win matches, you feel better.
You lose matches, you feel worse," said Kasatkina. She contrasted her early tournament performance with her improved execution during the second-round match against Tjen.
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"The first match I won was, we call it a 'dirty win', when you win with whatever, just being there, fighting," said Kasatkina.
Her mechanical execution improved significantly during the second set of the match. "Today was more playing better.
