Elena Rybakina vs Liudmila Samsonova Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA National Bank Open

Prediction published on 12/08/2023, 06:50  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 12/08/2023 at 07:51 in Tennis Predictions

Third seed Elena Rybakina is up against the 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova for a place in the National Bank Open final. The winner of this last four clash will face either top seeded Iga Swiatek or fourth seed Jessica Pegula. Rybakina is up a place to third in the live rankings and is bidding to continue her good form in WTA 1000 events this year. 2023 has already seen her win titles at Indian Wells and in Rome and also lose in the final in Miami. Aside from the Rome win, those two wins have both come on outdoor hard courts and that's the surface being played on in Montreal. Her season has been hit by illness but she's again gone deep in this tournament. It hasn't been easy though with three sets needed in her wins over Jennifer Brady and her quarter final against Daria Kasatkina. On both occasions, Rybakina had to come from behind to get the victory. To reach the final, she'll need to beat Samsonova for the first time. Two previous matches have been lost and both were on hard courts. One was in this tournament two years ago and that match had 32 games in its three sets.

Liudmila Samsonova was ranked 18th at the start of this tournament but is up three places in the live rankings. Winning against Rybakina will see her equal her career high of 12th achieved six months ago. The Russian is in her second successive hard court semi-final. This run to the last four in Montreal follows her semi-final appearance in Washington where she was defending the title. Samsonova has also had some tough matches on her way to this match against Rybakina. The first round saw her need to come from behind to beat Katerina Siniakova. There was another three-setter in the third round as she knocked out the second seeded Aryna Sabalenka. Her quarter final was a bit easier as she defeated 12th seeded Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-4. This could well be another tight match and we go for over 22.5 games to be played.