Lyudmila Samsonova said that she was «very proud» of herself after coming back from a set and a break down to beat Paula Badosa in a thriller from Dubai. Samsonova, the 14th seed, kicked off her campaign in Dubai with a thrilling 6-7(3), 7-6(5) 6-4 win over former World No.2 Badosa.
The match lasted three hours and 22 minutes.. Samsonova is now 3-0 head-to-head with Badosa. «Playing against Paula is always difficult. She’s doing amazing, so I’m very proud that I stayed on the court until the end.
I think I’m growing game after game, day by day. I know it’s a long road and I hope to continue like this,» said Samsonova after beating Badosa, according to the WTA website.
How did Samsonova defeat Badosa?
Samsonova saved three break points in game two, but also missed her first break point in game five.
In the tenth game, when Samsonova was serving to stay in the first set, the Russian saved four set points to tie the first set at five games apiece and eventually force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Samsonova opened an early 3-0 lead before Badosa rallied the next seven points to come back from the deficit and seal the first set..
In the second set, the first break of the match was seen as Badosa broke Samsonova in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead. Down for a set and a breakSamsonova broke Badosa in the eighth game and the set later had to be settled in another tie-break.
In the tie-break of the second set, Badosa held a 4-3 lead before Samsonova won four of the next five points to win the set and send the match to a decisive decision.. After winning a tight second set, Samsonova broke Badosa in the first game of the third set, but the Spaniard immediately broke in the second game.
However, losing an early break in the third set did not affect Samsonova, who maintained concentration and broke Badosa again in the seventh game to get 4-3. With a break up, Samsonova held on to her serve for the rest of the set to complete a great comeback over Badosa.
