Liudmila Samsonova (Twitter)
Toray Pan Pacific Open 2022 has got its two finalists – world No. 30 Liudmila Samsonova and world No. 36 Qinwen Zheng and they will face each other on Sunday.
The 23-year-old has made it to her third final in 2022. Her recent run of form has been staggering as she has won 17 out of her last 18 matches.
Samsonova began her campaign in Japan with a huge win against Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. The former dominated the match to win 6-2, 6-4. In the round of 16, Samsonova got the better of Wang Xinyu in straight sets 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. The Spaniard Garbine Muguruza couldn’t stop Samsonova’s marauding run as she lost the quarterfinal 4-6, 2-6. In the semi-finals, the Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai asked a lot of tough questions in the first set but Samsonova had answers to most. Eventually, the Russian youngster won the match 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
The 19-year-old is all set to play in her first WTA final. She has come of age in the tournament so far and dropped just one set as of now.
Zheng kickstarted her campaign with a comprehensive outing against Misaki Doi. The former won the match 6-2, 6-4. In the round of 16, Zheng managed to stun world No. 4 Paula Badosa in a lop-sided affair. Claire Liu gave Zheng a good run for her money but failed to take the match into the third set as she lost 6-4, 5-7. In the semi-finals, the Chinese youngster came back from a set down to produce a gritty performance and edge past Veronika Kudermetova 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
Qinwen Zheng has a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head scoreline. She defeated Samsonova in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 in the 2021 Palermo Ladies Open.
Prediction: Liudmila Samsonova to win in three sets.
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