Advertisement

Qualifier Liudmila Samsonova wins first WTA title in Berlin, gets Wimbledon wildcard

Samsonova, 22, made a mockery of her world ranking of 106 to recover from losing the first set to earn a 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Swiss fifth seed Bencic.

Advertisement
|Jun 21, 2021, 08:45:34 IST

Berlin: Qualifier Liudmila Samsonova won her first WTA title with victory over Belinda Bencic in the final of the Berlin grass court tournament on Sunday and was then handed a wildcard to make her Wimbledon debut.Samsonova, 22, made a mockery of her world ranking of 106 to recover from losing the first set to earn a 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Swiss fifth seed Bencic.After the match, Samsonova revealed she had been granted the final main draw wildcard into Wimbledon which starts on June 28."They just told me that I'm going to have the wildcard for the main draw, so I'm so happy," Samsonova said.It was another display of power tennis from the Russian who stunned former world number one Victoria Azarenka in Saturday's semi-final.Despite having her service broken twice in losing the first set, Samsonova immediately applied pressure at the start of the second.She racing into a 4-0 lead to serve out the set, which she won by blasting down seven aces without reply.Bencic, ranked 12th in the world, was broken again at the start of the deciding set and Samsonova applied enough pressure at 5-3 up to convert her second match point.

Advertisement
Handpicked stories, in your inbox
Global stories. Indian perspective. Zero noise.
No Spam. Unsubscribe Any Time.
First Published:Jun 20, 2021, 22:15:53 IST
Advertisement
Advertisement
Trending Stories

Rodri beats Messi to win Golden Boot award; Check out full list of 2026 World Cup award winners

The 2026 World Cup wrapped up in thrilling fashion, with Spain clinching a 1-0 victory over defending champions Argentina to become world champions. La Roja will add a second star above their crest, joining the list of teams that became multi-time World Cup winners. Substitute Ferran Torres struck in extra time to help Spain secure a 1-0 lead. The Spanish side looked utterly dominant with their playmaking, while Argentina was lacklustre. Even Messi, who carried the team to the summit clash, failed to display his magic. Following the tournament, check out the full list of the FIFA 2026 World Cup award winners.
1 min read
Advertisement
Advertisement
Up Next