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World no. 15 and the top seed Petra Martic is through to the quarter-final in Palermo, beating a qualifier Liudmila Samsonova 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and 30 minutes. It is the second quarter-final of the season for the Croat, bouncing back after the opening set and winning eight points more than her rival to cross the finish line first.
The young Russian gave her best against the better-ranked opponent, creating 14 break chances with brave and powerful hitting but converting only two, not enough to keep her safe. Nine of those break opportunities for the Russian came in games ten and 12 of the opener, with Petra fending off the first eight set points before Liudmila finally converted the ninth to take it 7-5.
Petra had the upper hand early in the second set before Samsonova bounced back with a break in game eight, only to suffer a break at love a few minutes later and squander two break chances in game ten. With the momentum on her side, Martic served well in the decider, earning breaks at love in games three and seven to seal the deal and reach the last eight.
The 4th seed Anett Kontaveit took down Laura Siegemund 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and 18 minutes, entering the third quarter-final of the season after the Australian Open and Dubai. Fending off ten out of 14 break chances, the Estonian started to play better from set number two, earning three breaks to gain the boost and using it nicely in the decider to grab two return games that carried her over the top.
The home favorite Camila Giorgi needed just over two hours to dismiss the young Slovenian Kaja Juvan 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, coming from a set down just like Martic and Kontaveit. The youngster made a great start, controlling the pace and earning five breaks in total, only to fall short in the end.
She rattled off four straight games in the opener for a 6-3, with Giorgio doing the same from 2-2 in set number two to get back into contention.
Dayana Yastremska was the player of the day in Palermo.
The Italian extended her streak to seven games, opening a 3-0 advantage in the final set and sealing the deal with a hold in game ten for the place in the last eight, her second of the season after Lyon.
In the last match of the day, the 7th seed Dayana Yastremska ousted Oceane Dodin 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 17 minutes. The Ukrainian blasted 11 aces and dominated with her first serve, suffering two breaks and earning five to move over the top in style.
Dayana had almost 40 winners with less than ten unforced errors, imposing her strokes and sailing into the last eight. Saving a break point in the first game, the Ukrainian grabbed a break in the second game and again for a 5-1 advantage.
Serving for the set, Yastremska got broken to prolong the action, only to seal the set following a double fault from Dodin in game eight. They traded breaks early in the second set and stayed neck and neck until the tenth game when Yastremska grabbed a crucial break to move over the top.