Russia's Liudmila Samsonova reacts after a point against Zheng Qinwen of China during the women's singles final of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on September 25, 2022. (Photo by Yuichi YAMAZAKI / AFP)
Liudmila Samsonova will take on Katie Volynets of the US in the opening round of the French Open
Samsonova has had a pretty poor season so far by her standards. Her sole noteworthy performance this year came at the Abu Dhabi Open, where she finished runners-up. She is coming to Paris following a second-round exit from the Italian Open. Samsonova will be aiming to put on a string of consistent performances and put on a good display at the clay-court Grand Slam. It remains to be seen if the 15th seed can go all the way and clinch her first singles title of the season.
Katie Volynets has had a pretty disappointing season so far barring a one-off semi-final appearance at the ATX Open in March. However, she did well to make it to the Semi-finals of the WTA 125 Saint-Malo tournament in her previous tournament. Volynets pulled off two major upsets against third seed Maryna Zanevska and seventh seed Magdalena Frech before eventually losing to Greet Minnen in the semis. She will be aiming to continue her good form in Paris.
The young American is currently ranked No.90 the WTA singles rankings. She will be looking to draw confidence from her good showing at Saint-Malo and put together a string of wins in Paris. It will be interesting to see if the young American can cause a few upsets and progress further into the tournament.
Date – Monday, 29th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – 07:45 pm IST
Location – Paris
Match details – First Round
Samsonova and Volynets have never played each other before on the WTA tour. This is the first professional head to head clash between the two players. On paper, Samsonova is the slight favourite both in terms of experience and rankings. However, one can certainly not rule out the in-form American and he is expected to put up a tough fight. We are predicting an intense encounter with Liudmila Samsonova eventually winning in three sets.
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