“The match will take place on January 9 at 04:00 Kyiv time”, — write: sport.ua
In the 1/4 finals, Yastremska will play against McCartney Kessler (USA, WTA 67). Estimated start time – 04:00 Kyiv time.
Sport.ua will conduct a video broadcast of the match.
Diana Yastremska
It is more expensive to watch Diana’s matches. Two tough matches against American women with comebacks after losing a set is a difficult burden on Yastremska’s shoulders, especially before the start of the Australian Open.
From match to match, Yastremska confirms the fact that on the court she fights not only against her opponent, but also against herself. Her match against any tennis player can end both in failure and in sure victory. And the most interesting thing is that everything depends on Diana.
A Ukrainian woman can control the course of the meeting. And proper experience allows you to find the right solutions. But how nervously she speaks. For what the lost 5:2 / 5:3 (40:15) / 5:4 (40:0) in the second set against Ann Lee is worth. And it goes without saying that the American showed something incredible on set balls and heroically saved herself. Yastremska lashed out and missed. It’s good that the broken racket and 0:2 at the start of the third game reminded her that it’s time to stop giving points and win.
Despite the obvious failures in Yastremska’s game, I personally liked her level. Not that she began, let’s say, to think more often. I appreciated her mood, psychological “comeback”, and I would also like to note separately her cool backhand flying from the center court. Basically, Diana plays beautifully, just when she hits.
And, as a Ukrainian, I want to believe that Diana will be able to win a trophy in Hobart and perform well at the Australian Open. Because if he does not defend the semifinals, he will fall behind the first hundred and then he will have to return closer to the tops again. And she is already 24, if there are ambitions for higher positions – it is time to demonstrate progress.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Diana Yastremska McCartney Kessler
If we are talking about Ashlyn Kruger, she is the new hope of the USA after Coco Goff (not that Coco passed, just Kruger – another possible top tennis player from the USA). And Ashlyn is 20. But McCartney is already 25 and her story is similar to the story of Yulia Starodubtseva, since McCartney only graduated from university in 2022.
She started 2023 on the 944th place in the WTA ranking, and finished it on the 231st. And in 2024, it entered the top 100 for the first time. The progress is cool, but in terms of age, she does not fit into the framework that should be in the future dominant tennis players of the Tour. But, to be honest, hardly anyone hopes for something like that.
Kessler will be just a good and stable player on the Tour, a hard player with an excellent American school of tennis. Her best Grand Slam result is the 2nd round of the 2024 Australian Open, where she received a wild card. Last year, she also played at the base of Wimbledon (she qualified) and the US Open. In both majors, she was eliminated in the 1st round by Maria Sakkari and Marta Kostiuk, respectively. The American finished last season with 39 wins and 21 losses, including winning her first trophy at the Tour level – she became the champion at the WTA 250 event in Cleveland.
McCartney started 2025 in Brisbane, where she passed Magda Lynette at the start and then gave way to Yulia Putintseva. In Hobart, she defeated Rebecca Shramkova and Maria Lourdes Karle on her way. Diana is the first serious test for Kessler in the new season, taking into account both Yastremska’s rating and the Ukrainian’s playing style.
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. McCartney Kessler Personal meetings between Yastremska and Kessler
In 2023, Yastremska won against the American women in the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 competition in Angers – 5:7, 6:3, 7:6 (11:9). At that time, Yastremska did not realize three set points in the first set, three match points in the final, but won one match point of her opponent. If there were swings 1.5 years ago, what will happen now…
Prediction for the match of Dayan Yastremsky – McCartney Kessler
Bookmakers are once again leading Yastremska as an underdog. And why not play her plus handicaps again? Diana shows that she can come back and win, and Kessler doesn’t look impenetrable and stable. Diana’s handicap +3.5 for 1.73 is a great option.
Diana Yastremska 01/09/2025 –
04:00
McCartney Kessler