By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Monday, July 31, 2023
Liudmila Samsonova says she aims to enjoy the experience of being a tournament defending champion at this week’s Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington D.C.
The No. 8 seed Samsonova enjoyed a solid 6-1, 6-3 win over wildcard Danielle Collins in her opening round on Monday.
World No. 18 Samsonova, who won last year’s women’s singles title over Kaia Kanepi, says she tried to manage her emotions and expectations going on first today as defending champion.
“I’m trying to manage the situation, to try to learn how to arrive to a tournament as a defending champion, how to manage all the situations. So for me, it's everything quite new. So I'm trying to do my best to enjoy, to have fun, and to play my best tennis.
When you play first match, it was not easy, because you play first as a defending champion, and it was okay. Let's try, no? But when you finish and you win, it's amazing feeling, because you have time, you have time to recover, to practice tomorrow because I have a day off (smiling),” Samsonova added.
Trying to have more fun on court is a new priority for the 24-year-old Samsonova who’s had an up and down season so far in 2023. Though she reached the final in Abu Dhabi, earlier this year, the rest of her results have been mixed. That includes an opening round loss at Wimbledon a few weeks ago.
It’s a far cry from the 2022 season where she won three titles including DC, Cleveland, and Tokyo.
She now wants to enjoy her time on court rather than focus on the results.
“My goal is to have fun, to have more fun on my game. Last months were tough, like not about the results that I had, but about I didn't enjoy so much the game on the court. So my goal is this, to enjoy it, to play the tennis that I can play.”
Samsonova awaits the winner between Sorana Cirstea and Petra Martic.