F. Jones defeated F. Ferro 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 in a roller-coaster first-round match at the WTA 125K Palermo. Jones dominated the opener with a bagel, converting all three break points she faced, but Ferro stormed back to force a decider after a scrappy second set. Jones ultimately prevailed in a tense tiebreak, finishing with six breaks converted overall.
Jones broke three times in the first set – at 2-0, 4-0 and 6-0. Ferro responded by breaking in the first game of the second set (0-1) and again at 0-3, though Jones pulled level at 3-3 before Ferro broke at 4-5 to take the set. The decider saw eight breaks: Jones broke at 1-1, 3-1, 4-2 and 5-5; Ferro broke at 0-1, 3-2, 4-3, 4-5 and 5-6. Jones won the tiebreak to seal the win.
Jones’ first serve proved decisive: she won 63% of first-serve points (52/82) and saved 55% of break points (5/9). She also won 54% of return points (54/100) and created 15 break opportunities, converting 6 – compared to Ferro’s 4 breaks from 9 chances. Jones finished with 114 total points won to Ferro’s 96.