Triumph of the Russian women in Wuhan: Schneider is on strike, and Samsonov is waiting for a duel with Svitolina
The Asian tour always tests tennis players not only for skill, but also for endurance. By mid-October, many people come to China with heavy legs. But not our girls. In Wuhan, Russian tennis players set the tone, showing excellent tennis and an enviable margin of safety.
Lyudmila Samsonova, who occupies the 43rd line in the world ranking, began her first round match on October 13 with a real maturity exam. Her rival was an experienced Czech Katerina Sinyakova, the 87th racket of the world. On paper, the score of 6:1, 5:7, 6:2 looks like a confident victory, but those who follow the tour understand perfectly well: playing with Sinyakova is walking on a minefield.
The match lasted two hours and nine minutes. Lyudmila did not submit a single ace and made six double mistakes, but took her own at the reception, realizing all five break points. Sinyakova, in turn, noted one ace, four double errors and two realized chances out of five. The second set, lost by Samsonova, clearly showed what happens when you give Sinjakova time to rock.
Lyudmila herself, quoted by the press service of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), after the match perfectly laid out the tactics on the shelves:
“If you give her some time, she plays really, really well. She has a lot of talent and can make you play really bad. Honestly, the goal today was not to let her play so much. So I’m very happy with the level I showed.”.
This tactical success is supported by excellent physical condition. While many rivals approach the end of the season against the background of total fatigue, Samsonova feels great.
“I have had a calm six months. Now I’m starting to play better and I have more energy because at the beginning I played a little bit, which means I didn’t put so much energy into it by the end of the season. It’s a different season finale for me because I still have the energy and I will play until the end if the body allows.
And this energy reserve will be very useful to her. Already in the next round, Lyudmila is waiting for a real blockbuster: a match against the sixth racket of the world of Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.
If Samsonova had to sweat, then the 13th racket of the planet Diana Schneider staged a real master class on the courts of Wuhan. In the match against the British Katie Bulter, who is 54th in the WTA rankings, Diana looked stronger on her head, beating the opponent with a score of 6:3, 6:1 in just an hour and 29 minutes.
Schneider acted as pragmatically as possible. On account of her one ace, four double mistakes and excellent work at the reception: six broken points out of 16 earned. Boulter was unable to find an antidote, taking only two breaks out of five possible, not filing a single ace and also making four double errors.
Now Diana is waiting for an equally intriguing confrontation in the second round. Its rival will be the 79th racket of the world, the representative of Kazakhstan Yulia Putintseva. It will be a battle of characters, where Schneider will need to keep his cold and calculating approach to the game.
Our girls are still fighting in China and every match they play is going to be really hot.
