Samsonova edges Putintseva in three sets in Cincinnati opener

Liudmila Samsonova survived a marathon opening round at the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, beating Yulia Putintseva 7-6 5-7 7-5 after nearly three hours of swinging momentum. The Russian's serve was both her weapon and her burden: six aces and 74.1% of points won behind the first delivery, but only 50.4% of those first serves landed and ten double faults kept Putintseva alive. The Kazakh was far cleaner, putting 68.9% of her first serves in with a single double fault, yet she won just 63.0% of those points. Samsonova's power in the decisive moments carried her into the second round.