It’s time for the semifinal round of the 2023 WTA Palermo Ladies Open. Qinwen Zheng, who’s still looking for her first WTA Tour title, takes on Mayar Sherif in a match where both players have an extremely high upside on this surface. Meanwhile, last year’s semifinalist Jasmine Paolini will try to go a step further this time by beating Sara Sorribes Tormo. Who do you think will prevail?
WTA Palermo Semifinal Predictions
Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Jasmine Paolini
Head-to-head: Sorribes Tormo
Sara Sorribes Tormo missed about half a year due to injury, but the Spaniard was quickly back in great shape. The big run came at the French Open where she made the fourth round, losing an unbelievable thriller to Beatriz Haddad Maia. The 26-year-old has dropped just one set in Palermo so far, beating Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the opening round. This is her first main tour semifinal of the season.
Jasmine Paolini also made the final four in Palermo last year and now she’s managed to repeat that feat with three consecutive deciding-set wins. She lost to Sorribes Tormo the only time they played in an ITF event, but it was eight years ago. Paolini can be surprisingly aggressive off the ground, but all the matches at this event are played at night due to extreme heat and these slightly slower conditions could give Sorribes Tormo a chance to outgrind her.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 3
Qinwen Zheng vs Mayar Sherif
Head-to-head: First meeting
Mayar Sherif is enjoying a fantastic clay campaign with a quarterfinal at the WTA 1000 in Madrid and back-to-back WTA 125K titles in Makarska and Valencia. She was in deep trouble against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro here in round one (3-6 0-3 down), but survived and crushed Camila Osorio on Friday. The Palermo courts grant Sherif space to dictate with her topspin forehand.
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But that form will be challenged by Qinwen Zheng now. The Chinese is yet to have that true breakthrough event that everyone is expecting from her, but maybe she can land it in Palermo. She’s been in stunning form so far, including a double bagel win over Sara Errani. Zheng can also go hard at the Sherif forehand corner, which the Egyptian doesn’t enjoy. Few players have stronger peaks on clay than Sherif right now, but she’s facing one of them here.
Prediction: Zheng in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
