‘s-Hertogenbosch: Samsonova defeats Andreescu for the trophy

Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the second seed, won the ‘s-Hertogenbosch trophy by edging Canadian wildcard Bianca Andreescu in a back-and-forth battle, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 34 minutes at Autotron Rosmalen on Sunday.

15th-ranked Samsonova claims her fifth career title – and second on grass.

She dropped the opening set but came back strong in the second as Andreescu encountered some physical problems with her left thigh.

The 25-year-old then survived a seesaw final set, which featured a trade of breaks and a late comeback attempt from Andreescu that fell short when Samsonova raced through 12 of the final 13 points to clinch the win.

Andreescu: good things are coming

It was a difficult loss to take for the Canadian, who was bidding for her first WTA title since 2019.

During the awards ceremony an emotional Andreescu broke down in tears at the end of her speech, as she thanked her team for sticking with her as she begins her comeback after a nine-month hiatus due to a back injury.

“Definitely not the trophy I wanted today,” Andreescu said. “Liudmila you played amazing tennis throughout. It was meant to be for you.

“For me I definitely feel like this is a step forward. I’ve been through a lot for quite some time, especially the last ten months. This is only my second tournament back – obviously it’s upsetting but I know that there are good things coming for me.”

Andreescu, who defeated Naomi Osaka in a star-studded quarter-final at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, drops to 6-2 on the season with her loss, and 3-4 lifetime in finals.

Samsonova levels the pair’s head-to-head at one victory apiece. Earlier on Sunday she snapped the run of two-time defending champion Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 win, in a match that was held over by rain after two sets.

Ahead of that victory, Samsonova, ranked No 15, also defeated Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck (6-1, 6-3), Swiss wildcard Celine Naef (7-5, 6-2) and Belgian Greet Minnen (6-4, 7-5).

Andreescu, ranked No 228, beat Dutch qualifier Eva Vedder (4-6, 6-3, 6-2), Chinese Yue Yuan, the No 6 seed (6-4, 6-4), Japanese wildcard Naomi Osaka (6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3)) and Hungarian qualifier Dalma Galfi (6-4, 6-2) earlier in the tournament.

The Canadian will return to the top 200 in Monday’s WTA rankings.

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