Samsonova's season looks very bad. A balance of 7/15 looks weak, especially considering she was a favorite in many matches. The tennis community is talking about her having problems not just physical but also psychological.
Grass was her favorite surface, and her main weapon was her serve, but it has drastically declined. Without a solid first serve, she doesn't stand much chance against Siniakova, who is a very good returner.
She also makes a lot of unforced errors. For example, in her match against Kasatkina in Strasbourg, she made 37 unforced errors. That's a staggering number. In Madrid, she withdrew from the 2nd round due to illness. As she later mentioned, she felt completely drained. This doesn't necessarily mean that she is physically weak at the moment, but it does show that she has had psychological problems not too long ago. Well, it's no surprise that this season has been very bad for her. She is very emotionally unstable in matches. For example, in her last match in Berlin against Mertens, she won the first set 6:1 but then lost the next two sets 3:6 and 0:6! When things are going well, she can beat players in the top 10, but if things start going wrong, she completely falls apart.
Siniakova is also not a favorable opponent for Samsonova, especially this season when her serve has declined significantly.
Grass is a very suitable surface for Siniakova. She often uses slices, changes the trajectory of the ball, approaches the net, and forces her opponents to play from uncomfortable positions. This style of play is well-suited for grass courts.
Siniakova is also good at reading her opponent's serve, returning many balls in play, and forcing them to play additional shots. This season, Samsonova has struggled with unforced errors, poor serving, and self-confidence.
The two have played against each other 23-24 times, with Siniakova coming out on top. Even though some matches have been close and gone to three sets, Siniakova has always prevailed. And back then, Samsonova was in much better form.
Siniakova also performed well in the recent tournament in Berlin, where she won easily against three opponents but lost to the in-form Pegula.
So Sini
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