After a series of disappointments, Iga Swiatek seems to be back in form now. Currently competing at the China Open, she has managed to secure her way into the finals after defeating some of the biggest names in the world. The Polish sensation faced off against Coco Gauff in the semi-finals. What looked like a tight match was made easy by Swiatek as she won the match quite comfortably in straight sets.

Standing her way in the finals will be Liudmila Samsonova who did one of the biggest turnarounds in the tournament. She defeated an in-form Elena Rybakina to book her tickets into the final. Now with just one step ahead of glory, the question here lies: Who will win the final of the China Open 2023?

Iga Swiatek vs Liudmila Samsonova: preview

Iga Swiatek has struggled to find form in the recent few tournaments that she has played in. Her recent best came at the Poland Open, where she managed to lay her hands on the title. Since then, the former number 1 has struggled to get into the finals while bidding an early goodbye at the US Open.

This eventually in her losing the number 1 spot in the WTA rankings. However, despite this, she managed to turn things quickly as she managed to secure her spot in the finals. While playing against Coco Gauff was her biggest challenge so far in the tournament which she managed to bag in her pocket.

On the other hand, Samsonova will be coming into the finals after she did one of the biggest turnarounds of the tournament. Facing the tough challenge of Elena Rybakina, she managed to secure a win despite being down in the first set. The resilience that she showed made many applaud her game. After her sensational performance that led her to the finals of the Canadian Open, she managed to secure another final appearance. However, during that period, she struggled to find form.

With the hopes of carrying forward the momentum, she would be looking to repeat her semi-final heroics and defeat the second-seeded Iga Swiatek while laying hands on the prestigious title.

Swiatek vs Samsonova: head-to-head encounters

Iga Swiatek and Liudmila Samsonova have crossed each other’s paths twice during their career. When it comes to their head-to-head records, Iga Swiatek has a comfortable 2-0 lead thereby maintaining a 100% win record against the Russian.

Their recent encounter came at the Dubai duty-free championship back in February. In that match, Iga Swiatek was a pure force to be dealt with as she managed to bag the win in easy sets. The Russian player had no answers to the fierce shots that Swiatek pulled on hard courts.

The other encounter came back in April last year at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. In a match that was evenly contested among the two, it was Swiatek, who had the final laugh. Despite losing the first set 6-4, Swiatek bounced bad and secured the win in an evenly contested third and final set of the match.

Also read: WTA World No.1 Iga Swiatek Stamps Her Authority as True Serena Williams’ Successor With an Incredibly Dominant Record at China Open

Prediction: Iga Swiatek to win the match in straight sets

Having gained her form back, Swiatek is looking very dangerous at the moment. After stunning the US Open champion in the semi-finals in straight sets, she might be looking to bring back glory as she looks all set to grab the first spot again in the WTA rankings. Talking specifically, she would be looking to use the China Open as a source of motivation to prepare herself for the year-ending WTA Finals in Mexico.

While Liudmila Samsonova might have been in the best form, it might not be enough for her to challenge Iga as she would fall some steps short of the title. What are your predictions for the upcoming final between the two tennis greats? Do let us know about your predictions in the comments below!

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