🎾 Mayar Sherif vs. Liudmila Samsonova – French Open R1

WTA French Open

🎾 Mayar Sherif vs. Liudmila Samsonova – French Open R1 Preview

🧠 Form & Context

Mayar Sherif
🇪🇬 Clay Queen (off-tour): Sherif continues to prove herself as a force at lower-tier clay events, recently winning titles at W100 Madrid and 125K Parma without dropping a set.
😓 Tour-level woes: Her 2025 WTA record tells a different story — just 1 win in 9 events, with a lone victory over Lulu Sun in Miami.
🎾 Roland-Garros comfort: This is her fifth main-draw appearance in Paris, and while she’s shown flashes on clay, she has never advanced past the second round.
Liudmila Samsonova
🇷🇺 Late bloom on clay: A dismal clay swing was suddenly brightened by her run to the Strasbourg final, where she beat Paula Badosa and Danielle Collins before losing to Rybakina.
📉 Early-season struggles: Prior to Strasbourg, she couldn’t win back-to-back matches in 9 of 11 events.
⛅ Mixed Slam form: 2–3 in French Open R1 matches, and while dangerous with her flat groundstrokes, her clay-court patience has historically been questionable.

🔍 Match Breakdown

Sherif’s clay-court IQ and loopier game style can trouble flat hitters, and she enters with strong confidence after recent ITF-level titles. However, her inability to consistently win tour-level rallies against higher pace remains a serious liability. Samsonova, on the other hand, found sharpness and belief in Strasbourg. If she serves well and keeps her forehand firing deep, she can dictate the tempo and avoid getting pulled into the longer, grinding exchanges Sherif prefers. Both players arrive with shaky Slam records, but momentum and recent top-level matchplay give the edge to the Russian.

🔮 Prediction

Samsonova’s uptick in form plus superior raw power should be enough to overpower Sherif, even if she has to weather a few drawn-out games. 🧩 Prediction: Liudmila Samsonova wins in straight sets, with a possible tight opener.