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Match details
Fixture: Alycia Parks vs Liudmila Samsonova
Tournament: China Open 2023
Round: First round (Round of 64)
Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $8,127,389
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Alycia Parks vs Liudmila Samsonova preview
Alycia Parks will square off against Liudmila Samsonova in the first round of the 2023 China Open.
Competing in her first full season on the WTA tour, Parks has performed decently, albeit in patches. She claimed her maiden WTA title in singles at the Lyon Open in February over Caroline Garcia in the final.
Parks' first and so far only win at the Majors came at Wimbledon. She defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam in the first round before falling to Ana Bogdan in the next round. The American also reached the third round of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in Madrid.
Parks teamed up with Taylor Townsend and claimed the doubles title in Cincinnati, a WTA 1000 tournament. She then crashed out of the US Open and the San Diego Open without winning a match. The 22-year-old snapped her losing streak at the Guadalajara Open, where she made it to the second round.
Meanwhile, Samsonova's best result this year has been a runner-up finish to Jessica Pegula in the final of the Canadian Open. She also reached the title round of the Abu Dhabi Open, but lost to Belinda Bencic.
A third-round showing at the US Open was Samsonova's most noteworthy result at the Majors. She recently competed in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she was the defending champion. The Russian moved past Tatjana Maria with ease, but was sent packing by Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round.
Alycia Parks va Liudmila Samsonova head-to-head
The two have not crossed paths on the WTA tour prior to this, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Alycia Parks vs Liudmila Samsonova odds
(Odds will be added once they're available)
Alycia Parks vs Liudmila Samsonova prediction
Both players serve quite well and the same is reflected in their stats for the season. Samsonova has hit 265 aces this year, while Parks has managed to strike 250 of them and has also played fewer matches than the Russian to achieve the feat.
However, Parks' double fault count is pretty high at 272, while Samsonova's tally stands at 202. This makes the key difference when it comes to service games won, with the Russian averaging at 74.9% in contrast to the American's 69.4%.
Neither hold back when it comes to their groundstrokes either. With both players trying to out-do the other in terms of high-risk tennis, they're often bogged down due to the sheer number of errors they commit.
Samsonova's slightly more consistent when it comes to her ball-striking, but Parks really shines in faster conditions, which the courts in Beijing are known for. This match could go either way, but the Russian's experience should help her edge past her younger opponent.
Pick: Liudmila Samsonova to win in three sets.
