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Match Details
Fixture: (6) Irina-Camelia Begu vs Lucia Bronzetti
Date: July 24, 2022
Tournament: Palermo Ladies Open
Round: Final
Venue: Country Time Club in Palermo, Italy
Category: WTA250
Surface: Clay
Prize money: $239,477
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Irina-Camelia Begu vs Lucia Bronzetti preview
Sixth seed Irina-Camelia Begu will square off against Lucia Bronzetti in the final of the 2022 Palermo Ladies Open. She's had a decent season so far, with 22 wins from 35 matches and a run to the semifinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. The Romanian also made the quarterfinals at the Melbourne Summer Set to begin the year.
Begu put up noteworthy performances at the 2022 French Open and Wimbledon Championships as well. The 31-year-old made it to the fourth round in Paris before losing out to World No. 7 Jessica Pegula and followed it up with a decent third-round finish at SW19. She won the opening set against Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round, but eventually bowed out in three.
The World No. 45 has picked up arduous wins since the start of her campaign at the Palermo Ladies Open. Apart from a straight-sets win against Diane Parry in the quarterfinals, all her matches have gone the distance. She secured a stunning comeback win against fourth seed Sara Sorribes Tormo in the semifinals on Saturday to reach her first final of the year.
Lucia Bronzetti, on the other hand, has amassed 29 wins from 46 matches this year, with a title-winning run at the ITF W60 Chiasso. She also made the semifinals of the Morocco Open in May.
The Italian was on a three-match losing streak before entering Palermo but steadied the ship at the WTA250 event. She found her bearings with solid wins against Xiyu Wang and Elena Avanesyan and then showed her class against former World No. 4 Caroline Garcia and Jasmine Paolini, scoring impressive comeback victories in both matches.
After looking down and out in the first set, Bronzetti got the better of her compatriot 0-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals to reach her first ever final on the WTA Tour.
Irina-Camelia Begu vs Lucia Bronzetti head-to-head
Irina-Camelia Begu and Bronzetti have never faced each other on the WTA Tour till date. Their head-to-head is locked at 0-0.
Irina-Camelia Begu vs Lucia Bronzetti odds
All odds are sourced by BetMGM.
Irina-Camelia Begu vs Lucia Bronzetti prediction
While Bronzetti didn’t look physically 100% in her last match, Begu herself competed against Sorribes Tormo for over three hours on Saturday. With less than 24 hours of rest before their title bout, it's still quite unclear who'll have the advantage fitness-wise.
However, considering their overall experience and results on the main tour this year, the Romanian will be the favorite on paper heading into this clash. She put up a solid service performance in her previous match, winning 80% of her first serve points and saving five out of seven break points against the Spaniard.
The World No. 45 is definitely the more creative player when given the opportunity to construct rallies and do something with the ball. She will most likely take an aggressive approach against the Italian, hoping to throw her off rhythm as early as possible.
Bronzetti will have the huge Palermo crowd on her side without a doubt, but her skillset is a lot more basic when compared to Begu. She struggled to get going in the early parts of her previous match but held her nerve well to see off Paolini's challenge.
As evident from her performances this week, the 23-year-old is most comfortable when dueling from the baseline and has an efficient two-handed backhand which has gotten her out of trouble time and again.
Both players registered multiple comeback wins in the lead-up to the summit clash and will surely fancy their chances of winning the title. The tie will be titled towards the Romanian, but Bronzetti might find enough inspiration in her hometown to edge past the veteran and cap off a successful week of tennis in Palermo.
Pick: Lucia Bronzetti to win in three sets.
