Liudmila Samsonova vs Madison Keys: Will Keys Get Even for the Defeat in Berlin?

Samsonova has an excellent chance to break into the semifinals of the tournament in Adelaide because in the quarterfinals in Liudmila’s opponent will not be the top American Madison Keys, which, incidentally, Samsonova beat last June in the capital of Germany.

The start of the season was not satisfactory for Samsonova. Liudmila, in her first match in Melbourne, lost 0:2 to Petkovic. In Adelaide, the Russian player got better results. Liudmila knocked out Cherif and Parrizas-Diaz, winning both in two sets. Nothing extraordinary has been seen from Samsonova in Adelaide so far, but Liudmila has beaten an American player before on grass but not on hard clay. So the chances of a semifinal in Adelaide Samsonova are not as bad as bookmakers believe.

We saw Keys in the match against Kasatkina in Melbourne. That match was not easy for Daria. The Russian won the first set on the tie-break and eventually won the meeting in three sets in two hours and 15 minutes. Objectively, Keys is not playing as well as the WTA #87 ranking, but better, it is true. Madison’s results in Adelaide confirm this thesis because before meeting with Samsonova, the American knocked out Martincová and Elina Svitolina, the #16 in the world. It is worth mentioning that Elina has significantly decreased her results after the Olympics. What’s even worse for Lyudmila is that if Keys wins, it’s in two sets, which means that Madison often lacks concentration for the match.

Our sympathy is on the side of Samsonova. Liudmila has the whists that could help her break into the semifinals. Keys now looks better than the Russian Samsonova this season, has not yet played with opponents of the level that Madison dropped out of the net, for example, Svitolina, no matter what form she was in.