After some final-less appearances in the United States, Iga Swiatek is back to a big final as she'll face Liudmila Samsonova in the 2023 China Open final.
It's been a very interesting week for Iga Swiatek, who is back again in a big final after missing out on several. Her last big final came at Roland Garros against Karolina Muchova. She has already played a couple of finals at the WTA 1000 level.
She was in the final in Dubai (l. to Krejcikova) and Madrid (l. to Sabalenka) hoping to finally win a trophy. The opponent will be a tricky one in Samsonova. She's one of the streakiest players on Tour capable of an amazing level when it's her day.
She's had one of their crazy weeks where she goes ballistic and beats everybody, which she further demonstrated against Elena Rybakina. Swiatek's semi-final win was no less impressive as she bested Coco Gauff, snapping her winning streak.
Head-to-head:
Swiatek and Samsonova played two times so far, and the Polish player won both matches. One of those came this year in Dubai, and Swiatek won 6-1 6-0. Not much to add there, but it was one of the bad days for Samsonova, and I don't think we'll see it again.
Prediction:
This is a tricky one to predict because Samsonova certainly has the tools to win the match but she'll need a really strong effort to get it done. Swiatek has been amazing all week, especially from the baseline. That's a huge advantage she has over Samsonova as she's far more stable and consistent.
The higher bounce allows her movement to flourish as well but ultimately the win condition will be down to returning. Samsonova served really well the entire week and if she keeps that up she'll have a chance. A minor chance but still a chance.
Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win in two sets.
0 Comments