Fifth seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia defeated defending champion Flavia Pennetta of Itlay 6-4 6-3 to win the final of Palermo Open.

Pennetta broke Kanepi in the first game of the opening set, but the Estonian broke back in the sixth game to level the scores at 3-3.

Kanepi broke again to take a 5-3 lead. Pennetta broke back immediately, but Kanepi broke the Italian again to clinch the set.

In the second set, Kanepi kept the momentum rolling in her favour and wrapped the second set 6-3 to win her first carreer title.

"I'm very happy to win my first career title,"  said Kanepi. "This is the best moment of my career. After doing well at Wimbledon, now I've confirmed I'm playing really well. Flavia was playing well but today I was more aggressive in the most important moments of the match."