Rain played havoc with the schedule at the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Tuesday, with only one second-round match being completed.
No.5 seed Liudmila Samsonova ends the day as the only player into the quarterfinals, by virtue of her 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback over Leylah Fernandez.
"I think it was an unbelievable match today," Samsonova said afterwards. "I was 6-4, 2-0 down, so it was not easy to come back from that, and I found the game, so I’m really, really happy."
The other matches initially scheduled for Tuesday -- No.3 seed Danielle Collins vs. Katerina Siniakova, Fiona Ferro vs. Anhelina Kalinina, and No.7 seed and defending champion Elina Svitolina vs. Clara Burel -- were all postponed to Wednesday, after rain delayed Tuesday's start of play by six hours.
Samsonova surges: World No.19 Samsonova and 33rd-ranked Fernandez started their match well into the afternoon, and it hit a brief snag when the rain returned at 4-4 in the first set.
That interruption lasted only 50 minutes, and upon resumption of play, Fernandez came out firing, winning won four games in a row to take a 6-4, 2-0 lead.
However, Samsonova turned the second set around, pulling off a four-game run of her own to lead 4-2. Four games later, a drop shot winner gave Samsonova the set, leveling the match.
A dash to the finish line 💨@LiudaSamsonova books her spot into the next round and defeats Fernandez 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. #IS24 pic.twitter.com/uDEJnnSO5K
— wta (@WTA) May 21, 2024
Samsonova, who is sixth-best on tour in first-serve points won this year, used her power game to pull away in the third set. A forehand winner gave her a break for 2-1, and her service returns were fiery as she extended her advantage to 4-1.
Serving for the match at 5-2, Samsonova stared down three break points, but she held off Fernandez's last chances and triumphed after 2 hours and 26 minutes of play (not including the rain delays). Samsonova now leads Fernandez 2-1 in their head-to-head.
Next up: Samsonova will find out her quarterfinal opponent tomorrow, who will be a Top 25 player either way -- the winner of the match between No.2 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and Emma Navarro.
"I hope to have another great match," Samsonova said. "Every [round] the opponent is every time tougher, so let’s see. I hope to play a good game. That’s my goal."
