Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the US Open match.
Both tennis players entered the start in New York in decent form: Marie Bouzková reached the final in Washington, while Liudmila played in the quarterfinals in Toronto and Cincinnati.
In the first round, Samsonova had a more convincing scoreline in her match, but it's worth noting that her first serve was off, she committed seven double faults, lost her serve on three occasions, and had a winners-to-unforced-errors ratio of 22-32. Moreover, Wang Qiang couldn’t consistently respond with power.
Bouzková played against Eva Lys. It wasn’t her best match either, but she made good use of her chances, converting six of seven break points and showing character. It’s unlikely that the Czech will leave the court without a fight against Samsonova: in her recent losses, the matches went to three sets. Additionally, Marie leads 2:1 in their head-to-head encounters, even though those matches were quite some time ago.
I expect a tight and even match here, where Bouzková will manage to cover the handicap and possibly even win.
