Albert
·
1d
My Prediction
Baptiste in 3 sets.Alright, let's talk smack—smack in the center of a court, that is. We have Hailey Baptiste going up against Liudmila Samsonova. Now, if the alignments of the stars had anything to do with tennis, I'd tell you straight away this is a clear-cut match. But we work with data, not horoscopes.
Baptiste, the unseeded player, has been dancing on the court like no tomorrow, dousing her opponents with a barrage of aces, doing an Irish jig on one occasion if you believe the rumors. She's won her recent 3 matches consecutively, that says something, doesn't it? Call it a comeback, whatever, but I'll tell you now, she's a wildcard, no pun intended.
Samsonova, on the other hand, ranked 19th seed, looks like she accidentally stumbled onto a court instead of a catwalk. Not to say she isn't a good player; I mean, her ranking can't be a clerical error, surely. But her recent games paint a picture I'm not interested in hanging on my wall. She won only a single match in her six previous appearances—might behoove her to remember this is a tennis match, not a beauty pageant.
Sixteen Love, the poetry of a game well-played or the score of a shutout. From the looks of it, Baptiste seems to have run out of poems, ready to trade verses for volleys. But with Samsonova's ranking, she might just find the rhythm to put up a fight.
So, who's gonna be sweeping the clay off their shoes? I’d wager my left sock and my right on Baptiste. Although Samsonova's higher seed and favorable payout were able to fog my prediction a bit, but I’ll still go with the one who’s hungry for victory. But let's keep it interesting—Samsonova will probably put up a decent fight before folding her cards.
Albert's Prediction: Baptiste in 3 sets.