Top seed and defending champion Zheng Qinwen advanced to the final at the Palermo Ladies Open for the second consecutive year after defeating Diane Parry 7-5, 6-4 in the semifinals on Saturday. 

Palermo: Scores | Draws | Schedule

The World No.7 has not lost a set this week, posting wins over Sara Errani, Petra Martic, Jaqueline Cristian and No.4 seed Parry. 

“Tonight I was more pumped than other matches,” Zheng said on court. “She played really well and she has a tough game. She has a really good touch on clay court. It’s not easy to play against her. She has a lot of change of rhythm, variation.”

The victory boosted the 21-year-old into her second final of the year and first since making her maiden major final at the Australian Open in January.

Zheng will face either No.2 seed Karolina Muchova or Irina Camelia Begu for the title on Sunday. Zheng is bidding to win her third career title on the Hologic WTA Tour and first of the season. 

In a rematch of their three-set clash in the second round of Palermo last year, Zheng dominated behind her first serve to seal the win in 1 hour and 38 minutes. The Chinese star was broken just once in the match and won over 84 percent of her first-serve points. 

Zheng fired 25 winners to just 10 unforced errors in the match. Parry kept the match in balance behind 24 winners of her won, but could not find a way through Zheng’s superior serving day. 

More to follow…