(July 13, 2013) -- Defending champion
Sara Errani will see a familiar face across the net from her during Sunday's XXVI Italiacom Open finals in Palermo.
There, her opponent is none other than her friend and doubles partner
Roberta Vinci.
Top seed Errani made her way back to the finals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 4 seed
Klara Zakopalova. Despite being broken three times in the match, Errani maintained a high 94% first serve percentage to see her through into the finals.
Errani holds an impressive 25-4 lifetime record at the event, having won it twice in 2008 and 2012.
"Palermo is a wonderful tournament," Errani said earlier in the week. "I love the clay court season and I play here with a lot of happiness."
To win her third title in Palermo, Errani will have to get past Vinci. Vinci herself almost didn't make the finals as she dropped the first set of her semi to Spain's
Estrella Cabeza Candela. Despite that, Vinci's experience paid off, while a lack of it showed for Cabeza Candela, who was playing in her first ever WTA semi.
Vinci went on to win the next two sets and completed a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win.
Errani leads the lifetime head to head against Vinci 5-2, with their last meeting taking place in the semis of Dubai back in February.
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(Photo Credit: AFP/Patrick Kovarik) |