Anett Kontaveit downed top seed Petra Martic in straight sets on Saturday to reach the final of the Palermo Open, the tournament marking the return of tennis after a five-month shutdown due to coronavirus.
The 24-year-old Estonian was steady throughout her 6-2, 6-4 and remained on course for her second WTA Tour title, where she will take on unseeded Fiona Ferro in the final of the clay-court event.
“I felt like a played a very good match today,. I was quite aggressive, consistent, and I served especially well in the first set. It got a bit close in the end, but I played a good game at 5-4 and I’m happy to be in the final,” Kontaveit was quoted as saying after her win by the official WTA website.
France’s Ferro is into her second career WTA final after fighting from a set down to beat local favorite Camila Giorgi. This was her second win over an Italian after beating former Palermo champion Sara Errani in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-final between unseeded contenders, the 23-year-old notched 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory to reach her first final of the year.
“I would have never won those kinds of matches two years ago. I used to focus a lot on my opponent when she was playing aggressive, and I didn’t find solutions. Today I’m very happy to be through because I managed to maybe focus more on my game and not on my emotions,” she said in her post-match press conference.