Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Unseeded American Bernarda Pera will face top-seeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the final of the Hamburg European Open after the women each won their semifinal matches Friday in Germany.
Pera was a 6-2, 6-4 winner over seventh-seeded Belgian Maryna Zanevska, her 11th win in a row when counting qualifying matches. Though Zanevska saved seven of 11 break points, Pera wouldn’t be denied as she won 27 of her 37 first-service points (73.0 percent).
Pera, ranked No. 81 in the world, is in position to win her second title in as many weeks after prevailing at Budapest last week.
Kontaveit, the No. 2 player in the world, won 6-3, 7-5 over Russia’s Anastasia Potapova. It is Kontaveit’s third finals appearance of the season.
Palermo Ladies Open
Jasmine Paolini and Lucia Bronzetti set up an all-Italian semifinal by winning their respective quarterfinal matches Friday in Italy.
Paolini upset eighth-seeded Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-2 in three hours and six minutes.
Not to be outdone, Bronzetti took down fifth seed Caroline Garcia of France 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and 56 minutes. Their match ended past 2:30 a.m. local time.
The other semifinal will pit fourth seed Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain against sixth seed Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania. Sorribes Tormo beat seventh seed Anna Bondar of Hungary 6-2, 6-3 and Begu sailed past France’s Diane Parry 6-1, 6-3.
–Field Level Media