Tuscany tries to comeback by clearly winning the second set but gives in 6-4 1-6 6-1 to the Chinese
The pugnacious soul is not enough for Jasmine Paolini. The Tuscan number 52 in the world, in her third WTA final in her career, surrenders in three sets 6-4 1-6 6-1 to the Chinese Qinwen Zheng, number 26 in the world and seeded no. 2 of the Palermo Ladies Open. The last triumph of an Italian in the Sicilian tournament therefore remains that of 2013, when Roberta Vinci overcame Sara Errani in the derby in the final. The 20-year-old Zheng, who trains in Barcelona with one of the most expert technicians on the circuit, Wim Fissette, instead wins the first WTA title of her career, confirming herself among the fastest growing athletes on the women’s circuit. “It was a good week – said Jasmine -, I have to congratulate my rival who deserves this trophy. I played singles and doubles, it was tiring but I can’t wait to play here again”.
THE MATCH
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The first set is of the Chinese brand, with a break that Jasmine is unable to recover, yielding 6-4. In the second, however, the Tuscan student of Renzo Furlan changes gears completely. She opens by holding serve in the first game and in the second, after an almost 20-minute tug of war, she breaks Zheng’s serve on the sixth occasion and goes up 2-0. The Chinese has a drop, a bit like what happened against Kasatkina, and the Tuscan takes advantage of it to be more and more aggressive, consolidate the break and break Zheng’s serve a second time who collapses and gives up the set 6-1. All to be redone after an hour and 40 minutes of play, with a heat that requires a lot more energy. Stop in the locker room and change of clothes for the two players, with Zheng switching to yellow and purple. The break helps to recover energy and rearrange ideas: the Chinese returns to the field and immediately goes ahead by a break, goes up 3-0 and Paolini collapses, giving up the serve again and finishing down 4-0. From there, even the Palermo public fades away,
DOUBLE
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Nothing to do in the doubles final for the blues Angelica Moratelli and Camilla Rosatello who train at the Country in Francesco Cinà’s academy, beaten 6-2 6-4 by the pair formed by the Russian Yana Sizikova and the Belgian Kimberley Zimmermann, seeded number 1 of the tournament. for Zimmermann it is the third victory in a row in Palermo.
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