SEOUL: Number two seed Liudmila Samsonova crashed out of the Korea Open on Wednesday after a 6-4, 6-2 loss to fellow Russian Veronika Kudermetova in the last 16.

Playing in her first match in Seoul after receiving an opening-round bye, Samsonova made several unforced errors as Kudermetova wrapped up the victory in 1hr 15min.

Samsonova’s loss leaves top seed Daria Kasatkina as the clear favourite in a field already depleted by a string of last-minute withdrawals, including world number one Iga Swiatek, US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Kudermetova, who has seen her world ranking drop from 16 at the start of the year to her current position of 44, will face either American Amanda Anisimova or Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova in the quarter-finals.

“It was a really tough match,” said Kudermetova.

“It’s always not easy to play against Liudmila but I’m really happy that I managed to win this match.”

Kudermetova made the decisive break midway thr­o­ugh the first set and then started the second with another break of serve.

The 27-year-old struggled to press home the advantage at times but finally came good when Samsonova dumped a shot into the net on match point.

“We prepared for that weather,” Kudermetova said of the humid conditions in Seoul. “I just focused on my game and my plan and that’s it.”

Number seven seed Eka­t­erina Alexandrova also made an early exit after losing 6-2, 7-5 to world number 163 Polina Kudermetova.

Russia’s number four seed Diana Shnaider made it through to the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Canada’s Carol Zhao.

Ukraine’s number five seed Marta Kostyuk also reached the last eight with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Britain’s Heather Watson.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024