LOS ANGELES.- The Czech Linda Noskovacurrent champion of Wimbledonsurprised the American this Tuesday Coco Gauff and secured their qualification to the semifinals of the WTA Finalswhile Jessica Pegula kept her options alive by defeating the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.
Eighth favorite in the tournament that takes place in the Californian desert of Indian WellsNoskova took advantage of the local star’s doubts with the serve to win with a double 6-3 in Group 2 and guarantee her presence among the four best of the event.
Noskova broke Gauff’s serve four times to take the first set and earned a decisive break early in the second set before sealing victory with her ninth ace of the night.
“I’m very happy. Obviously every win counts in this competition,” Noskova said after the match. “Coco is a great competitor, so I had to be prepared for everything that came my way today.”
“With Coco you have to play until the last point because she can always come out ahead thanks to her serve and her fighting spirit. I feel like I played very well to put pressure on her,” added Noskova, who defeated the Ukrainian Kostyuk in her first group match.
The defeat left Gauff and Pegula in the fight for the last available ticket to the Group 2 semifinals, while Kostyuk was eliminated from the competition.
Pegula remains strong
Pegula, beaten by Gauff in her debut on Sunday, reacted by beating Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5 in a match that became more complicated than expected during the second set.
“I feel like I’m playing well,” Pegula said. “My match against Coco was a very high-level match and today’s match was also a great match.”
“It is very difficult to play against her because you never know what is going to happen, suddenly she comes forward and gives speed to the ball, she launches herself like a kamikaze at the net, she goes for the returns or her serve becomes very powerful,” said the fifth player in the world ranking.
The 32-year-old American dominated the first set with two breaks of serve, but had to work hard in the second set, marked by four consecutive breaks in the first five games.
Kostyuk had opportunities to take advantage, but Pegula found the decisive break in the eleventh game and closed out the match by holding serve after a forehand error by the Ukrainian.
The WTA Finals were initially to be held in Saudi Arabiabut they were transferred in July to Indian Wells due to the instability generated by the military conflict in Middle East.
