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Lucia Bronzetti will play Irina-Camelia Begu in the final of the Palermo Ladies Open on Sunday. On Saturday, both players advanced to the title round after winning their respective semi-finals in the top and bottom half of the draw.
Bronzetti got past Jasmine Paolini in their Italian-derby semi-final, overcoming the opening set bagel in the process. Bronzetti needed two hours and two minutes to prevail 0-6, 6-3, 6-3. Bronzetti dropped her serve four times in the match.
Three of these breaks came in the opening set and one in the deciding set. Paolini, too, lost her serve four times in the match both of which came in the latter two sets. Bronzetti finished the match by winning 62% of her first-serve points to her compatriot’s 59% although in terms of second-serve points won, Paolini was slightly better than her, winning 52% to Bronzetti’s 50%.
Palermo Ladies Open: Irina-Camelia Begu surmounts a stiff challenge
This is the first time Bronzetti’s reached the final of a WTA event. Speaking after her win, she shared, “I'm very happy to reach my first final here in Palermo.
We played good, we fought a lot, and I'm so happy to play again tomorrow”. Meanwhile, the sixth-seeded Begu ousted the fourth-seeded Sara Sorribes Tormo in their semi-final. Another three-setter that involved a comeback from the eventual winner, the match lasted three hours and 12 minutes with the Romanian notching a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Begu won 65% of her first-serve points to Sorribes Tormo’s 67%. She went on to break the Spaniard thrice in the match while dropping her serve twice. She finished the match with 62 points, three more than Sorribes Tormo’s 59.
The Palermo Ladies Open final’s the ninth final of the world no. 45’s career. If she were to win the title, it would be the fifth title of her career and her first after almost five years (since winning the title at the Bucharest Open in 2017). Photo Credit: Palermo Ladies Open Twitter