Liudmila Samsonova vs Aryna Sabalenka Prediction: Can Samsonova Surprise Sabalenka Once Again?

Aryna Sabalenka, world number five, will try to get back to winning ways this season when she faces 20th-ranked Liudmila Samsonova in the second round of the 2023 Adelaide International on Wednesday, January 4.

Shuai Zhang is presently ranked 25th in the world after an outstanding previous season in which she also won a WTA title, and she appeared to be defying the odds when she captured the opening set against Samsonova.

After all, Samsonova entered their first round match with 1/4 odds to win, but it took her nearly two hours to secure a spot in the second round.

She won 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 after overcoming a set and a break behind in the second set. Zhang crumbled in the final set after failing to convert her opportunities and Samsonova leveled the match.

Samsonova, who won three championships last year, will be hoping to maintain her high achievements against a difficult opponent in the second round.

Sure, Sabalenka reached three event finals in 2022, including one at the WTA Finals, but with no titles to her record and a drop in the rankings from her career-best number two to fifth, it looked like she should have done better.

Again, this was the season in which Iga Swiatek dominated, so Sabalenka did not have it easy, but after winning 10 WTA championships in the previous four years, winning nothing in 2022 seems a little disappointed.

Sabalenka will need to start well in 2023 against a player who has beaten her in their sole meeting.

If her confidence has been shaken by her recent performances, the Belarussian only needs to go back to her WTA Finals participation, where she upset Swiatek in the quarterfinal.

A strong showing versus Samsonova is to be expected.

Despite the disparity in their ranks, this might be a difficult judgment. Sabalenka may be rated fifth, but Samsonova starts the season after a very successful previous season in which she won three titles. A three-setter is likely.