Liudmilla Samsonova vs Victoria Azarenka Odds & Prediction – Bett1 Open Semifinals

• Former World #1 Victoria Azarenka is the -275 favorite over Liudmila Samsonova in their WTA Bett1 Open semifinal on Saturday, June 19
• Qualifier Samsonova will be playing in the second semifinal of her WTA career
• Azarenka is in her first semifinal at a grass-court event since the 2012 London Summer Olympics

For the second time in her tennis career, Liudmila Samsonova is in a WTA semifinal. For the first time in nearly a decade, Victoria Azarenka is in the semifinals of a grass-court tournament.

These two will square off in the semifinals at the Bett1 Open in Berlin. Both of them arrived at this destination by toppling American opponents.

Qualifier Samsonova got there by virtue of a 7-6(7-4), 2-6, 7-6(7-0) verdict over former world top-10 player Madison Keys. Azarenka took a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 decision over world #26 Jessica Pegula.

The betting line is going with the proven veteran in this match. Two-time Grand Slam winner Azarenka of Belarus is the -275 favorite over Russian Samsonova.

Liudmila Samsonova vs Victoria Azarenka Odds

Odds as of June 18 at DraftKings

Saturday’s semifinal match is slated to get underway at 10:00 am ET at the Steffi Graf Stadion. The Tennis Channel will be carrying all of the action.

Azarenka Avenges Pegula Setback

The first time they met this season, Pegula stopped Azarenka 7-5, 6-4. That was in the opening round of the Australian Open. This time, world #16 Azarenka was the one with the answers.

It took the Belarussian just an hour and 49 minutes to dispatch Pegula. Azarenka converted six of nine break points. She won more than half of the points when returning Pegula’s second service.

On level terms with the 🇺🇸@vika7 avenges her loss in Australia to Pegula with a three-set win in Berlin!#bett1open pic.twitter.com/KKgxLpD9j3

— wta (@WTA) June 18, 2021

Azarenka took the first set 6-2 without facing a single break point. But she let Pegula briefly off the hook in the second set. Azarenka squandered a 4-2 lead by dropping five of the next six games.

Deadlocked 3-3 in the third set, Pegula double-faulted at triple break point to lose the game. Azarenka never again trailed.

Samsonova Unlocks Keys

Add world #28 Keys to the list of Samsonova victims in Berlin. All of them rank among the WTA’s top 50 players. Already ousted by her was Russian compatriot and world #32 Veronika Kudermetova and world #41 Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.

Each of those triumphs are among the first three grass-court victories ever recorded by world #106 Samsonova in a WTA main draw.

Second career semifinal 🤩

Liudmila Samsonova is victorious after a three-set battle against Keys!#bett1open pic.twitter.com/k17tvYlCGT

— wta (@WTA) June 18, 2021

This match took two hours and 24 minutes to determine a winner. It was among three quarterfinals to be decided via tiebreaker. In fact, Samsonova won both her sets by tiebreaker. She came back from 4-2 down to take the first-set tiebreaker.

Samsonova won an impressive 83% of points off her first serve during the match. A key turning point came at 5-5 in the third set. Keys had four break points and failed to covert any of them, eventually losing the game. In the third set tiebreaker, Samsonova served back-to-back aces to grab a 5-0 advantage en route to the easy 7-0 decision.

Wisdom vs Youthful Exhuberance

Azarenka has won 21 WTA titles and played in 40 finals. She’s won two Australian Opens and played in five Grand Slam finals. Twice, the Belarussian was a semifinalist on the grass courts at Wimbledon. Azarenka has won nearly $33 million on the WTA Tour. Samsonova’s career earnings add up to barely more than $600,000.

Blink and you will miss it!

Liudmila Samsonova slams this forehand winner en route a confidence-boosting hold in the first game of the decider.

[📽: @WTA] pic.twitter.com/LyOCzjJniI

— WTARussians (@WTArussians) June 18, 2021

In Samsonova’s favor, those two Wimbledon semifinal appearances by Azarenka were long-ago memories. They came in 2011 and 2012. This is Azarenka’s first semifinal appearance in a grass-court tournament since the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games.

Victoria Azarenka vs Liudmila Samsonova Stats

Samsonova, 22, is nine years Azarenka’s junior. However, even during this run of success in Berlin, the Russian exhibits signs of the inexperience of youth.

The match against Keys saw her committing seven double faults. Samsonova converted just one of eight break points.

Victoria Azarenka shakes off a scratchy 2nd set to beat Jessica Pegula, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in Berlin.

Azarenka looked to be coasting into her second semifinal of the year. But, we know that Pegula never… ever stops fighting.

In the end, Azarenka was just a bit more steady in set 3 pic.twitter.com/0yCz8bcL1R

— Tick Tock Tennis (@TickTockTennis) June 18, 2021

Azarenka also displays a disturbing habit of allowing her game to completely abandon her for long stretches of a match. Samsonova is filling the role of giant killer this week. If Azarenka ends up giving her that opening, it will prove fatal.

Pick: Liudmila Samsonova +210; Samsonova 2-1 (+550)