Liudmila Samsonova vs Kaia Kanepi 8/7/22 Washington Tennis Picks, Predictions, Odds

Kaia Kanepi and Liudmila Samsonova meet in the final of the 2022 tennis Citi Open.

Kaia Kanepi is coming off a straight set win over Daria Saville that took 16 games to decide. In the victory, Kanepi won 80 percent of her first serve points and 62 percent of her second serve points. Kanepi won 71 percent of her total service points and converted on 5 of her 9 break points. Kanepi got 49 percent of her first serves in play and was broken once. Kanepi has now won 4 straight matches for the first time since making the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Kanepi looks to win her first title since the 2013 Brussels Open and her fifth title of her career. Kanepi is 4-5 in career final appearances. Kanepi has won 8 of her last 10 matches on hard court.

Liudmila Samsonova is coming off a straight set win over Xiyu Wang that took 14 games to decide. In the victory, Samsonova won 84 percent of her first serve points and 78 percent of her second serve points. Samsonova won 81 percent of her total service points and converted on 5 of her 8 break points. Samsonova got 51 percent of her first serves in play and hit 4 aces. Samsonova has won 8 of her 9 sets this tournament and looks nothing like the player who lost 6 of her last 7 matches before this event. Samsonova looks to win her second career title and first since last year’s German Open. Samsonova has won 6 of her last 8 matches on hard court.

Samsonova won the only match against Kanepi, which came in 2021 Wimbledon. The match was decided in straight sets and 18 games.

Both players are playing their best tennis of the season right now, and you can make a case for either side. The edge probably goes to Kanepi and her return and ability to limit the unforced errors. Kanepi also has far and away more experience in these sorts of matches, and this is a chance for her to win her first title in nearly a decade. At 37 years old, this may be Kanepi’s final chance to get to the top of the mountain.

I give the slight edge to Kanepi.