French Fiona Ferro beat Estonian Anett Kontaveit on Sunday to win the Palermo tennis tournament, the first event on the WTA circuit after a five-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following a first round one-way and a second set more hooked, Ferro, N.53 world, won 6-2, 7-5 against Kontaveit, 22nd in the hierarchy.
On Sicilian clay, the 23-year-old Frenchwoman broke her opponent from the start and then again took the opposing service at 4-2 to quietly afford the first set in 40 minutes of play.
The second set was more uncertain, each player leaving several times her serve to her opponent. Ferro definitely took the upper hand at 5-5, breaking and then winning his serve to claim the title. “I felt relaxed. I don't know why, because it was a final, but I didn't really feel the pressure, ”explained the Frenchwoman after the meeting.
This is the second trophy in two finals on the WTA circuit for Ferro, winner of the Lausanne tournament in 2019, already on clay. She is now among the 50 best players in the world in the WTA rankings, released on Monday, after winning Palermo. Ferro, 23, went with the second title of his career from 53rd to 44th in the world (1267 points).
The WTA circuit continues on Monday with the tournament in Prague (Czech Republic), also on clay, and that of Lexington (United States), on hard.
It will be the first American tournament on the calendar for the resumption of world tennis, three weeks before the US Open, still scheduled from August 31 to September 13 despite the heavy toll the United States is currently paying to the Covid-19 pandemic , and despite the increasing number of packages.
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