Indian Wells, Nov 11 (IANS) Linda Noskova continued her impressive WTA Finals debut as she defeated Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 in 75 minutes to improve to 2-0 in Group 1 play and become the first player to clinch a semifinal berth.
Noskova is the youngest player to reach the semifinals in her first WTA Finals appearance since Petra Kvitova in 2011. She is also the youngest player to win her first two round-robin matches since Gauff in 2024 and the first No. 8 seed to do so since Anett Kontaveit in 2021, as per WTA stats.
“First of all, I did not even know I was in the semis, to start with that,” Noskova told reporters. “Right after the match finished, I was already focusing on how I’m going to play Jessie (Pegula) in two days. So not much really changes for me. I still want to win. I still want to get whatever score, whatever win possible. I’m not really playing the math here, so it’s not going to be any different.”
Noskova broke Gauff five times, including four times in the opening set. She converted five of nine break-point opportunities and won 75 per cent (18 of 24) of the points on Gauff’s second serve. The pressure Noskova applied on return helped her build 4-1 leads in both sets.
It is a sixth top-10 victory of the season for Noskova, who won her maiden Grand Slam at Wimbledon in July.
Gauff will face Marta Kostyuk in her third round-robin match, needing a win to advance to the semifinals. Gauff, who is looking to become the youngest player to reach her third semifinal at the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova in 2006, has won four of six head-to-head meetings.
However, Jessica Pegula, with a 6-2, 7-5 victory in one hour and 29 minutes over Kostyuk, also remains in contention to advance to the tournament’s knockout stage.
The straight-sets victory was exactly what Pegula needed after enduring a physical battle with compatriot Gauff to open her campaign, and she’ll prepare for Linda Noskova in a Berlin final rematch on Thursday.
Kostyuk, meanwhile, is eliminated from knockout round contention as a result of two straight-set losses.
–IANS
bc/vi