Guadalajara Open 2022: Aryna Sabalenka vs Liudmila Samsonova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (2) Aryna Sabalenka vs Liudmila Samsonova.
Date: October 19, 2022.
Tournament: Guadalajara Open 2022.
Round: Second round (Round of 32).
Venue: Panamerican Tennis Center, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Category: WTA 1000.
Surface: Hardcourt.
Prize money: $2,527,250.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Liudmila Samsonova preview
Following a first-round bye, second seed Aryna Sabalenka will square off against World No. 22 Liudmila Samsonova in the second round of the 2022 San Diego Open on Wednesday.
Sabalenka has enjoyed quite a few good results on the tour this season, though she's yet to win a title. She finished as the runner-up at the Stuttgart Open and the Libema Open, while reaching the semifinals of the US Open, Italian Open and the Western & Southern Open.
Sabalenka took a brief hiatus following her semifinal defeat by Iga Swiatek at the US Open. She returned to action at last week's San Diego Open. After an opening-round bye, she was up against 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round. The Belarusian won the encounter in three sets.
Sabalenka then faced qualifier Donna Vekic in the quarterfinals, but slumped to a three-set loss.
Samsonova was drawn against veteran Kaia Kanepi in the first round. The opening set was quite one-sided, with the Russian reeling off six games in a row to take it.
Kanepi jumped to a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Samsonova managed to get back on serve soon enough. The Estonian held a break point in the 11th game of the set, which would've then allowed her to serve for the set. She failed to convert and it proved to be a huge missed opportunity.
With Kanepi now serving to stay in the match at 6-5, Samsonova broke her opponent's serve for one last time to win the match 6-1, 7-5.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Liudmila Samsonova head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Liudmila Samsonova odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Aryna Sabalenka vs Liudmila Samsonova prediction
Samsonova is in great form at the moment, having lost just two matches since the start of August. This run has included three titles and a fourth-round showing at the US Open. After last week's early exit from San Diego, she played a decent match to oust Kanepi in the first round here.
Samsonova's serve in the previous round wasn't optimal. She only managed to get 45% of her first serves in play, but managed to win 91% of the points when she got them in. Other than that, the Russian's game clicked quite well.
Sabalenka couldn't have asked for a tougher opponent to face so early in the tournament. But if she manages to get past Samsonova, it'll boost her confidence tremendously. Both have an all-out attacking style of tennis and don't hold back when it comes to their shots.
Samsonova has the added advantage of getting acclimatized to the conditions by playing a match here, given the altitude. Based on their recent form, the Russian should be expected to emerge victorious, but one ought to be careful about writing off Sabalenka.
Pick: Liudmila Samsonova to win in three sets.