To defeat top opponents, Samsonova lacks self-confidence, Yanchuk believes

Honored coach of Russia Viktor Yanchuk expressed the opinion that Lyudmila Samsonova does not have enough self-confidence to defeat top opponents.

On Sunday, the Russian lost to world number two Iga Šwiętek in the final of the tournament in Beijing. The meeting ended with a score of 6:2, 6:2 in favor of the Polish team.

— I can’t say that Samsonova’s performance during the tournament in Beijing somehow surprised me. She showed the very skill that had been expected from her for so long, her reaching the final was not a surprise to me. Lyudmila showed us that she continues to naturally improve the level of her playing. Regarding her performance against Szwiatek: with all her good technical equipment, Samsonova does not yet believe in herself, hence these unforced errors. She lacks the confidence to defeat truly top opponents.

It can also be said that she still lacks the main skill that distinguishes the best tennis players – the ability to fight for the main balls in the match. It is not necessary to fight for each one, you just need to understand which one will decide the fate of the game, set, match. I think that Lyudmila still has everything ahead. First of all, she just needs to play more matches with strong opponents, gradually she will gain confidence and complement her understanding,” RT quotes Yanchuk as saying.

The world number two won her 16th WTA singles title. Samsonova has four victories left in tournaments under the auspices of the organization.