An entertaining final should be in the offing at the WTA Abu Dhabi Open with eighth seed Liudmila Samsonova set to take on Belinda Bencic, seeded second. Both have played some excellent tennis so far this week and both will no doubt be determined to get their hands on the trophy in the UAE. But who will come out on top in Sunday’s final?
WTA Abu Dhabi Final Prediction
Liudmila Samsonova vs Belinda Bencic
Head-to-head: Samsonova 3-0 Bencic
After a first-round bye, Bencic opened her campaign at the WTA Abu Dhabi Open with a 6-4 7-5 win over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. She backed that up by getting the better of the hard-hitting Shelby Rogers in straight sets, securing her place in her second tour-level semifinal of the season in the process. There she faced sixth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia. The match looked close on paper but was far from it in reality, with Bencic sweeping the Brazilian aside for the loss of only five games.
Samsonova was not afforded the luxury of a first-round bye, instead starting her WTA Abu Dhabi Open against Claire Liu. The American took the first set, but could not maintain her momentum with Samsonova rallying to a 3-6 6-2 6-0 win. Samsonova then beat Barbora Krejcikova and Veronika Kudermetova, both in straight sets, to reach the last four where Zheng Qinwen waited for her. The Chinese had sprung several upsets this week, but in the end Samsonova had just too much, winning 6-4 1-6 6-4.
Of the two, it will probably be Samsonova who is the more confident ahead of the match. She has, after all, beaten Bencic in all three of their previous matches, although all three matches were contested in the second-half of 2021. Bencic is playing better tennis now than she was then. In fact, the Swiss has made an excellent start to the season. Samsonova has impressed too, but if Bencic can maintain the level she has displayed for most of 2023, expect her to just about have the edge.
Prediction: Bencic in 3
Main photo credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
