Zheng battles past Muchova to successfully defend Palermo title

No.1 seed Zheng Qinwen successfully defended a title for the first time in her career on Sunday night, winning her second straight Palermo Ladies Open trophy after a hard-fought clay-court final.

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In a battle between Grand Slam finalists, Zheng outlasted No.2 seed Karolina Muchova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 for her 10th consecutive win at the tournament on the island of Sicily. Overall, it is Zheng's third career WTA singles title, having also won in Zhengzhou last year.

"It was a really tough match, because I think she's an amazing player," Zheng said after her victory over Muchova. "She volleys really well. And then she has a tough drop shot for me."

"There [was] lot of ups and downs. ... I [was] trying to be more aggressive in the third set and I'm happy that worked out."

Zheng prevails in marathon: Former Top 10 player Muchova had defeated Zheng in their only previous meeting, a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 clash on clay at 2022 Madrid.

Czech Muchova, the 2023 Roland Garros runner-up, was hoping to repeat the feat and clinch her second career title, in just her third event back on tour since ending a 10-month injury hiatus. Muchova had been sidelined with a wrist injury since last year's US Open.

But China's Zheng, currently ranked a career-high World No.7, now has an 11-1 career win-loss record in Palermo. Her only loss at the tournament has been to Jaqueline Cristian in the 2022 second round. (Zheng avenged that loss to Cristian in this week's quarterfinals.)

"I feel, you know, this place has been really special for me," Zheng said. "I've had a lot of great performances here."

Zheng made this week's championship match without the loss of a set, reaching her first final since her maiden Grand Slam final at this year's Australian Open. Muchova pushed Zheng into a decider on Sunday, but Zheng held on for the win after a grueling 2 hours and 49 minutes.

Match moments: Zheng fought back from a break down on two separate occasions in the first set, then prevailed in multiple rallies at 5-4 to break for the one-set lead.

However, Muchova’s drop shot skills helped the Czech build a hefty 4-1 lead to start the second set. At 5-4, Muchova erased four break points and leveled proceedings.

In her first deciding set of the week, Zheng grabbed the early advantage by breaking for 2-0 with a forehand winner down the line. But Muchova got back on serve at 3-2 after slamming an incredible crosscourt forehand winner on break point.

Zheng took control for good shortly thereafter, converting her fifth break point of the following game to move ahead 4-2. Zheng eased home from there, finishing the match just ahead of Muchova in winners by 28 to 24.

Top seeds take doubles: The Palermo doubles title went to No.1 seeds Alexandra Panova and Yana Sizikova, who squeaked past the wild-card pairing of Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers and Aurora Zantedeschi 4-6, 6-3, [10-5] in Saturday's final.

Panova and Sizikova needed slightly less than two hours to prevail, denying the Sicilian crowds a potential Italian doubles champion in Zantedeschi.

This is Sizikova's second straight Palermo title, having won last year alongside Kimberley Zimmermann. Overall, this is Sizikova's sixth career WTA doubles title.

Panova is now a nine-time doubles champion on the WTA, with her first doubles title coming back in 2010. Panova reached her first two Grand Slam doubles quarterfinals this year at the Australian Open (with Cristina Bucsa) and Roland Garros (with Giuliana Olmos).