The pair had already faced each other in August in Washington, when Samsonova won two sets to one, though at Wimbledon in 2021, Kanepi triumphed in straight sets.

This time around, at the top-level WTA1000 event, Kanepi, who recently broke into the top 30 in the WTA rankings after an eight-year absence, had her service broken three times in the opening set, which Samsonova, ranked 22nd in the world, wrapped up in 27 minutes.

Set two was much more evenly-matched; the Estonian went 3:1 up, though her opponent went on to win the next three games, while with things at 6:5 in favor of Samsonova, Kanepi lost her serve once again to lose the set and match.

The entire encounter lasted an hour and 22 minutes.

Samsona served up seven aces to Kanepi's two and, while her first service success rate (45 percent) was lower than Kanapi's (58 percent), the Russian player won 21 out of 23 of the points concluded off the first serve. Kanepi converted one out of two break points; Samsonova five out of 10.

Samsonva faces Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in round two.

Estonia's top player, Anett Kontaveit, opted not to play in Guadalajara or any other tournament in the remainder of the season ,after pulling out of the Ostrava competition with a back injury.

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