Samsonova before facing Sabalenka: "I just hope I can play my tennis"

Liudmila Samsonova has reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells. The Russian, seeded 24th, dominated Jasmine Paolini (6-0, 6-4) and will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka late Thursday night into Friday for a spot in the semifinals.

After triumphing over the Italian player, Samsonova stopped in front of the cameras of the local media outlet More and reflected on her match of the day as well as the challenge awaiting her against Sabalenka, who was the unfortunate finalist of this same tournament two years ago.

"To be honest, I don’t even remember the first set anymore. But I think I was calmer in the first set than I was in the second. Compared to last year, I’d say I’m more mature in my game, I haven’t changed much in how I prepare for my matches.

It might be a combination of several factors, but what made the difference today was definitely having the right attitude before the match, that’s for sure. In the second set, Jasmine played better, she started to believe more. I might have made two or three more mistakes, but the serve was crucial.

The key was to serve well and play well on the next shot. I think the conditions favor my serve. So far, I’ve had three matches, and all three opponents positioned themselves quite far from the baseline on returns, which helps me a lot.

We’ll see how it goes tomorrow (Thursday). Against Aryna, I just hope I can play my tennis, that would already be a great performance for me.

I’ve beaten her several times before (2-2 in head-to-head matches), I don’t think it will be so easy for her against me either, I truly believe that," assured Samsonova, who will attempt to reach the semifinals of a WTA 1000 for the third time in her career.