MUBADALA CITI DC OPEN

July 31, 2023

Liudmila Samsonova

Press Conference

L. SAMSONOVA/D. Collins

6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Can you walk us through the match?

LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA: I'm so happy the way I played today. It was tough, because it was the first match here, like defending champion, never easy to go on the court. But I think I played a great game today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Welcome back to D.C.

LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA: Thank you.

Q. Can you just tell us your thoughts on coming back to D.C. after winning here last year, what you like about the tournament and your thoughts going in for this week.

LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA: I'm trying to manage the situation, to try to learn how to arrive to a tournament as a defending champion, how to manage all the situations.

So for me, it's everything quite new. So I'm trying to do my best to enjoy, to have fun, and to play my best tennis.

Q. Just to follow up, you got to the finals in Abu Dhabi, and the rest of the season is a little bit up and down for you. What are you looking to work on this week moving ahead to the US Open?

LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA: My goal is to have fun, to have more fun on my game. Last months were tough, like not about the results that I had, but about I didn't enjoy so much the game on the court.

So my goal is this, to enjoy it, to play the tennis that I can play.

Q. Danielle, obviously not really an easy opponent. She started to come back there a little bit in the second set. How were you able to keep calm and maintain your game on court?

LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA: Yeah, as you said, Danielle, it's always tough to play against. I was trying to push on my serve, to be focused on my serve. When she gave the chance on the return, also to push her there.

I'm very happy to be solid on that part.

Q. You mentioned having to go out first on Stadium Court today, but with that, is it nice to have maybe a bit of extra time break? You might be playing a later match later in the day, even though it's hot right now, having a little more time between first match and second match here in Washington?

LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA: Sorry, can you repeat?

Q. Just going out first and getting it go over with, does it give you more time to recuperate?

LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA: You mean that I have time? Okay, okay.

You know, when you play first match, it was not easy, because you play first as a defending champion, and it was okay. Let's try, no?

But when you finish and you win, it's amazing feeling, because you have time, you have time to recover, to practice tomorrow because I have a day off (smiling).

I'm happy to have this time to practice.

Q. Just going back to being defending champion, you said this is a new experience that you want to learn from, talk about going out on the court as defending champion, is it more pressure coming back, do you feel, or is this again just something you're trying to learn from this new experience?

LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA: Exactly, I try to learn, because I think it depends on your mindset, in which mood you go to the court. Yeah, I try to don't focus about the "defending title," but to play match by match and to see how far I can go in the tournament.