Amanda Anisimova continued her excellent grass-court form with a hard-fought round of 16 win over Pole Magdalena Frech (who vanquished Mirra Andreeva in the last round). Anisimova had to withstand some stubborn resistance from the Pole, ultimately prevailing 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 (improving to 22-10 for the season).
2025 WTA Tour
WTA 500
Grass Court Championships Berlin
Rot-Weiss Tennis Club, Berlin, Germany (Outdoor Grass)
Selected Quarterfinal Matches- 20th June
Amanda Anisimova 1.16 vs Liudmila Samsonova 0.67
She enjoyed an incredible breakthrough in Qatar, winning her maiden WTA 1000 title (dropping just one set in the process). She went slightly quiet after that but enjoyed a solid clay-court campaign, reaching the semifinals in Charleston before a solid 4th round run at the French Open. And she has beautifully negotiated the switch to grass, finishing runner-up at last week’s newly upgraded Queens event. Currently 6-1 on grass this season, Anisimova is on the brink of breaking into the top ten for the first time in her career. She is moving gracefully and that double-handed backhand is one of the most devastating weapons in the women’s game.
26-year-old Russian Liudmila Samsonova showed off her undeniable grass-court ability with a stunning round of 16 win over 3rd seed Jessica Pegula. The big-hitting Russian carried on going for her shots in the seesaw affair, seeing off the durable American 6-7, 7-5, 7-6. The Russian was gigantic on serve, firing 18 aces and winning a staggering 81% of her first-serve points. The Russian suffered an early exit at last week’s Libema Open, but her form has certainly been on an upward trajectory this season. She reached the semifinals in Adelaide and would reach a WTA 1000 quarterfinal at Indian Wells. She showed unexpected life during the dying embers of the clay-court swing, finishing runner-up in Strasbourg before going down to Zheng in the 4th round of the French Open. The big-serving Russian’s risk-reward style has produced excellent results on grass in the past (she won this title in 2021 and won her 5th career title in Rosmalen last year).
The Verdict: Samsonova to win in three at 3.2– Anisimova leads the head-to-head 2-1. However, the Russian won their most recent meeting, thrashing Anisimova 6-2, 6-1 at last year’s French Open. I think that Samsonova has a decent chance of pulling off an upset here. She has served like a demon all week and will test Anisimova’s excellent returning abilities. 2021 Berlin champ Samsonova clearly has an affinity for these surfaces, using her brand of first-strike tennis to suffocate opponents. She could take down a potentially weary Anisimova.
