In a final that proved to be more of a meatball than a Vesuvius, Flavia Pennetta (left) routed compatriot and defending champion Sara Errani 6-1, 6-2 in the final of Palermo on Sunday.
Pennetta's win confirmed her reputation as a queen of the small clay court tournaments outside of the main clay court season, as now six of her seven titles have come at such events. As long as they keep holding them, somebody's gotta win 'em.
Just like Bammer, Pennetta too is defending US Open quarterfinalist points she's unlikely to defend. I give her a better shot, though. She's not someone who has too many inexplicable losses (save the French Open this year vs. Glatch), and she should be facing lower ranked opponents for the first three rounds. Put her in the eighth of a Kuznetsova or a Jankovic and she could see her way into the later stages of the tournament with some ease. Though if she lands in Serena or Dementieva's territory, she could well go out without a wimper.
Errani never made a ton of noise during her strong 2008, but has made even less so far in 2009. She'll fall slightly in the rankings from this loss, and it will be interesting to see how much longer she can keep knocking on the door of the top tier. I don't think we'll hear too much more from her, but I could be wrong.
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