Canadian tennis star Leylah Annie Fernandez takes on Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova in the R16 clash at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. Both of them have enormous potential and they are two of the most talented players in the women’s circuit. But this year, both the WTA stars couldn’t perform the way they would have wanted. They have failed to bring any sort of consistency in their game this season.

Both Leylah Fernandez and Liudmila Samsonova got off to a winning start in Strasbourg. But it will be interesting to see who among these two can carry forward their winning momentum in the next match at the courts of Patrice Dominguez.

Leylah Fernandez vs Liudmila Samsonova: Preview

Leylah Fernandez’s best performance this year came at the Qatar Open where she reached the QF. She has been pretty much ordinary in the rest of her tournaments this year. In her last match, Fernandez defeated Russia’s Anastasia Potapova by a 4-6,7-6(4),6-3 margin. She hit just two aces in the entire match and committed nine double faults against the Russian. Her first serve win percentage was 64% but it dropped to 58% on the second serve. Leylah Fernandez converted just six of out her nineteen breakpoints.

The 21-year-old Canadian tennis star has hit just 27 aces and committed 73 double faults this season. Decreasing the number of double fault counts will be key to her success in this match, too! She has won 66.5% of her service games and 32.1% of her return games so far. Can she outclass her Russian opponent in her next match?

Well, Liudmila Samsonova reached the SF of the Abu Dhabi Open this year. But again, she has also struggled to find her form in the rest of the tournaments. She defeated the 2021 champion of the Internationaux de Strasbourg by a three-set thriller. It took Samsonova almost three hours to defeat Barbora Krejčíková by 6-2,6(5)-7,6-4 in the R32 of this tournament. She hammered eight aces and committed eleven double faults against the Czech tennis star.

Her first serve win percentage was 80%  and her second serve win percentage was 61%. She converted six out of her fifteen breakpoints in that match. Grabbing the half chances and converting those into winners will be a key factor in this match. But has Samsonova met Fernandez earlier on the tour?

Fernandez vs Samsonova: Head-to-Head

Both the tennis stars have met each other twice in their careers so far. Their first meeting was at the 2022 US Open, and in that match, Leylah Fernandez defeated Liudmila Samsonova by 6-3,7-6. After that, they yet again crossed paths at this year’s Qatar Open. In this match, Fernandez took her revenge on Samsonova by defeating her by a 7-5,7-6(4) margin.

They are now all squared up at 1-1 at their H2H. If we look at the stats from their latest encounter, Fernandez managed to his just a single ace in the entire math and committed five double faults. While Samsonova hit three aces and committed five double faults. Leylah Fernandez won 68% of her first serve compared to just 52% of her second serve. It was 72% and 52% respectively for Liudmila Samsonova. The Canadian converted three out of six breakpoints in that match. But the Russian tennis star could only manage to convert two out of her eight breakpoints. But who has the edge in this enticing contest? Let’s find out!

Prediction: Fernandez to win this match in three sets

This tournament is a good warmup event before the French Open and both the players will look forward to ending the Strasbourg campaign on high notes. Although Leylah Fernandez (33) currently ranks below Liudmila Samsonova (19), she has previously achieved some extraordinary results in some of the biggest stages of the game. Leylah Fernandez reached the QF of the French Open in 2022. So, she is well-tested on this surface. Fernandez loves solving puzzles and Rubik’s cubes during her off-time. But can she solve her Russian puzzle in her next match?

Leylah Fernandez is known for her fiercely competitive nature and ‘never-say-die’ attitude. She has got some extraordinary movement and defensive abilities in her game. Here in this venue, the conditions will perhaps be a bit slow and this can help the Canadian against Liudmila Samsonova. The Russian on the other hand, is known for her powerful two-handed backhand and big serving abilities. She plays an aggressive brand of tennis. But currently, her win-loss record is just 6-11, compared to 9-10 of Leylah Fernandez. So, after looking at all these analyses and stats, Fernandez looks slightly ahead in this enticing encounter.