Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria serves to Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic during their quarter final match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 28 June 2011. Photo by EPA/BGNES
Bulgaria's top female tennis player Tsvetana Pironkova is through to the second round of the Palermo tournament after she beat Georgian Anna Tatishvili 6-2 7-5 in one hour and 30 minutes.
Both players traded breaks regularly in the match, with world number 83 Tatishvili giving up her serve seven times and Bulgarian Pironkova saving just one of the five break-point opportunities she conceded.
Pironkova, sixth seed, snatched the win despite her second set first service percentage of just 44%.
Recently, the 23-year-old Bulgarian made it to Wimbledon's quarter-final after kicking Venus Williams out of the tournament for second year in a row,