Lesia Tsurenko vs Liudmila Samsonova Prediction & Betting Tips - Abu Dhabi Open

Prediction published on 05/02/2024, 01:16  by Nella Wagah in Tennis Predictions

Eighth seed Liudmila Samsonova will seek her first win of the season when she battles Lesia Tsurenko next in Abu Dhabi. The two will battle in the first round with the winner setting up a second-round showdown with either Paula Badosa or Anhelina Kalinina. Lesia Tsurenko has had a decent start to the year and has so far won three of five matches. Her last outing was in Melbourne where she exited the tournament in the third round. This was her best-ever finish at the major in over 10 years and should give her momentum to seek a deep run here. The Ukrainian has started the week up two places in the live ranking to number 31. Tsurenko counts hard courts as her favourite surface to compete on and has in her career won over 200 matches on hard courts.

Liudmila Samsonova is having a torrid start to the year. The Russian has lost all three matches she has so far played in 2024. She lost in the first round at the Australian Open to a player ranked outside the WTA 200 then. This is an unacceptable start to the season for the four-time tour champion. She will be hoping that returning to a tournament she did so well at last season, sparks a season turnaround. Samsonova finished as runner-up in Abu Dhabi last season which was an excellent way to mark her debut appearance. To build up her confidence ahead of this match even further, Samsonova has defeated Tsurenko before. She won their only other encounter three seasons ago which coincidentally was in the UAE. Samsonova has dropped one place to 15th in the live ranking.