Russian sports federations and it players in all ramification faced a huge blow this year with suspension from various competitions and tennis wasn’t an exclusion. The likes of Medvedev, Rublev, Kasatkina, Samsonova missed out in some Top competitions this year like the Wimbledon. However, this week two female players, Liudmila Samsonova and Alexandrova Ekaterina lit up in their respective tournaments as they both clinched titles on Sunday.
SAMSONOVA DEFEATS ZHENG IN STRAIGHT SET
Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova won her the Tokyo Open title defeating Chinese Qinwen Zheng 7-5, 7-5. Samsonova started her road to victory by defeating Wimbledon defending champion Elena Rybakina in straights set. Also, went on to defeat another former world Number 1, and grandslam Champion Garbine Muguruza in the Quarter Final. The final match between the two power hitters was a very close one, but the Russian showed more desire.
Zheng was broken in the first set on the 11th game before Samsonova served for the first set. In the second set it was Zheng that got cracked first. She handed the Russian free points due to 2 double faults in the 5th service game of the second set. Zheng also wasted no time as Samsonova made double fault to hand Zheng three break points and the Chinese broke back to go level at 3-3. As in the first set, Zheng was again broken in the 11th game for Samsonova to go 6-5 up. The Russian wasted no time serving for the Championship, as she won the match 7-5, 7-5.
“It’s amazing, I think I need a little bit of time to realize it, but it’s unbelievable,” Samsonova said. “It was like a nervous match today. I was really prepared physically but I was tired mentally because I was playing singles and doubles every day, I’m very happy with the way I managed the pressure.”
With victory over Zheng, Samsonova has now won all of the finals she has appeared in. She will also attain a high ranking as she moves seven place to become World Number 23. And she also didn’t drop a set all week long. •Else where in Asia, Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Grandslam winner Jelena Ostapenko 7-6, 6-0 to win the Seoul Open.
