Defending champion Liudmila Samsonova christened the Mubadala Citi DC Open with authority Monday afternoon, beating American wild card Danielle Collins 6-1, 6-3 in the opening match on Stadium Court.

“I'm so happy the way I played today,” said Samsonova, who improved to 6-0 lifetime in Rock Creek Park. “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 World No.18 was never broken and needed just 73 minutes to defeat Collins, the 2021 Australian Open finalist.

Samsonova conceded last week that she felt chills when she returned to Washington and saw her name on the awning of champions among other past DC winners. Samsonova said Monday that she is embracing her status as the tournament’s reigning champion but admits she’s still getting used to it.

“I’m trying to manage the situation, trying to learn how to arrive to a tournament as a defending champion, how to manage all the situations,” she said. “So for me, it's everything quite new.”

Samsonova also said her win a year ago in Washington was a life-changing experience that served as a springboard for two more titles late in 2022 (Cleveland, Tokyo).

She is now looking to become first back-to-back WTA champion in Washington since Magdalena Rybarikova successfully defended her title 10 years ago.

“I try not to focus about the ‘defending champion’ but to play match by match and see how far I can go in the tournament.”

Samsonova will next face either Sorana Cristea or Petra Martic in the Round-of-16.