Liudmila Samsonova has won her second WTA singles title and her first title of the season, beating No.6 seed Kaia Kanepi 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The match between the current World No.60 and Kanepi lasted 1 hour and 46 minutes. Her first WTA title was won in Berlin last season. She has now reached two finals, winning both times.
“I think it was the hardest match of the week because Kaia was playing amazing,” Samsonova said in her post-match press conference.
“She was serving so well. I had some troubles to find the solution on the return. It was a tough mental game today, and I’m so happy that I found the solutions.”
Samsonova finished with 10 aces to Kanepis five. She also had 27 winners to 18 unforced errors. Although Kanepi started the stronger of the two, her 16 winners were paced out by her 19 unforced errors.
Both players played well in all three sets. In the third set, Samsonova did not drop a single point behind her first serve. Kanepi managed to rally late in the set but it was too late and the Russian won 6-3.
Kanepis next match will be against Naomi Osaka in the first round in Toronto next week.
This is an impressive win for the Russian especially given that she was not even sure if she was going to be competing.
A few weeks ago I didnt have the visa to come to the United States, so its amazing to be here and to win the title, she said during the trophy ceremony.
Thank you so much to the crowd for the amazing atmosphere. Youre amazing, guys, seriously.
She had an impressive run at the tournament, defeating Elise Mertens, Ajla Tomljanovic, and Emma Raducanu just to reach the semis.
