Kasatkina will take confidence from her run on the Parisian clay.
The world number three has won eight out of her last nine matches on outdoor red clay, losing only to world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final.
Nadal had a solid start, but the 35-year-old struggled physically towards the end of the contest
Medvedev suffered a jarring early exit from the Canadian Masters last week but overcame some initial problems in a tricky tie against Shapovalov to edge both sets and book a meeting with American Fritz.
Belinda Bencic won two tiebreaks to beat teenage Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva
Russian teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva continued her giant-slaying exploits at the Dubai Tennis Championships by upsetting Kazakhstani sixth seed Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals.
'I think this tournament was the first tournament this year that I went in trying to win for myself, and I think that was the difference in my mentality'
Factbox on American second seed Coco Gauff, who defeated Belarusian world number one Aryna Sabalenka
Swiatek hit 33 unforced errors in a dismal 6-4 6-2 defeat.
Swiatek made the most of Kasatkina's string of unforced errors, peppering court Philippe Chatrier with winners.
Ash Barty has become the first local woman to reach the final of an Australian Open in 42 years.
Coco Gauff was dumbstruck after beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open final on Saturday
Swiatek is on a remarkable 34-match winning streak On the other side, Gauff has developed into a solid claycourt player
Sabalenka, who has never reached the final at Roland Garros, believes she is now better equipped both physically and mentally to challenge on clay, a surface she concedes took her years to master.
Aryna Sabalenka is the red-hot favourite at Melbourne Park, where another victory would give her a fourth major title and widen the gap in the rankings to Poland's Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff of the United States.
13 of the men's seeds fell at the first hurdle -- a Wimbledon record since 32 seeds were introduced in 2001.
Sabalenka spent eight weeks at the summit last year before Swiatek overtook her with a victory at the season-ending WTA Finals and the Belarusian hopes for a longer stay as 'N1'.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff and No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland won their respective opening matches of the Orange Group at the WTA Finals Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Swiatek's last defeat on clay came in the WTA 1000 event in Madrid against Australian Barty, who elected not to defend her 2019 French Open title last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At an oven-like Centre Court where the temperature climbed to 30 degrees Celsius, Sabalenka twice rushed to the aid of ill fans by supplying bottles of cold water and an ice pack, before she cracked under pressure from her opponent in the 10th game.
Iga Swiatek's maiden triumph at the US Open extended her lead to almost twice as many points as the second-ranked Ons Jabeur
Italian Cocciaretto stuns Pegula in big Wimbledon upset; Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen was beaten by Czech Katerina Siniakova.
Significant pay hikes at the Grand Slams were central to the demands of the world's top players in their letter to the four majors recently.
Pole says she feels much better prepared to handle the pressure of her latest career milestone.
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff resume their simmering rivalry on the pristine lawns of London.
Images from Day 12 of the French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
Paula Badosa overcame a slow start to take down Belarusian top seed Aryna Sabalenka after Maria Sakkari continued her dominance of Iga Swiatek in the round-robin stage of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico on Thursday.
'Neither I nor members of my team have symptoms of coronavirus. We carry out tests regularly. We will quarantine ourselves in accordance with current procedures'
'Novak is playing here, so it's easier. But Andy and Roger coming meant a lot to me because they represent a very important part of my tennis career.'
It was the Latvian's first title on clay since her 2017 French Open Grand Slam victory.
Simona Halep questioned the "big difference" in how doping cases are treated after world number two Iga Swiatek was handed a one-month drugs ban
A summary of Thursday's action at the US Open.
Russian seventh seed Daniil Medvedev, the 2023 Miami champion who arrived this year fresh off a run to the Indian Wells semi-finals, crashed out at the first hurdle as he fell 6-2, 6-3 to Spaniard Jaume Munar.
Images from Day 7 of the 2022 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Saturday.
Madison Keys is the second-oldest woman to claim her first Australian Open singles title in the Open era.
Images from Day 10 of the 2022 Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Poland's red-hot world number one Iga Swiatek did not drop a game in her Saturday singles match against Romania's Andreea Prisacariu, sending Poland through to November's Billie Jean King Cup finals in decisive fashion.
Images from Day 3 of the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Tuesday.
Images from Day 11 of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Wednesday.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the Wimbledon Championships from the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Tuesday.
