🎾 WTA Rome: Hailey Baptiste vs Liudmila Samsonova

🎾 WTA Rome: Hailey Baptiste vs Liudmila Samsonova – Match Preview

🧠 Form & Context

🇷🇺 Liudmila Samsonova

• Inconsistent campaign: SF in Adelaide and QF in Indian Wells, but poor showings in Stuttgart and Madrid.
• Clay capability: Three career SFs on clay, but struggles to maintain level due to high-risk shotmaking.
• Rome record: Just 1–2 in the main draw, with her only win coming in 2023.
• Weaponry warning: Huge serve and flat groundstrokes, but vulnerable when pushed into extended exchanges.

🇺🇸 Hailey Baptiste

• Rising form: QF in Auckland and R3 in Miami, now riding a four-match Rome win streak through qualifying and R1.
• Clay improvements: Traditionally better on hard, but now showing solid clay-court growth with recent wins in Madrid and Rome.
• Composed under pressure: Won multiple tiebreaks this week—highlighting mental toughness.
• Tactically growing: Uses serve and forehand well, but learning to defend and construct points more effectively on slower courts.

🔍 Match Breakdown

This matchup pits Samsonova’s power-first, aggressive style against Baptiste’s rhythm, court sense, and growing clay comfort. Samsonova will look to blast through points and avoid long rallies, while Baptiste will try to extend exchanges and capitalize on her opponent’s erratic stretches.

Samsonova’s form is too unpredictable to guarantee a clean win, but she has the ability to hit through Baptiste if she starts well. However, Baptiste’s recent match rhythm and calm under pressure may drag this into a third set.

🔮 Prediction

Prediction: Samsonova in 3 sets. Baptiste will challenge, but Samsonova’s raw firepower in big moments should help her squeak through.