Linda Noskova defeated Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Czech eighth seed controlled the match with a heavy serve. She broke Gauff four times in the opening set alone. Gauff struggled with her delivery throughout the encounter, hitting eight aces and eight double faults and winning only six of 24 points behind her second serve.
"She played solid today, she's able to play first-strike tennis… I think I didn't put enough pressure on her. I wish I'd started off serving a bit better." Coco Gauff assesses her straight-sets loss to Linda Noskova today. pic.twitter.com/iwsxdFqARG
Noskova closed out the victory in just under 80 minutes. She took her ninth ace to seal the win.
The defeat leaves Gauff fighting Jessica Pegula for the remaining semifinal spot from Group 1. Pegula defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5 on Tuesday.
"The scenarios, I know they make sense, but they're kinda stupid. If I win my match [Thursday] and I still don't qualify, I'm like, 'It's okay, it's cool.' I'm looking forward to next year. I can't say much, but everybody knows that has to change." 👀 Asked Coco about the SF… pic.twitter.com/Bxw51if0sU
Pegula committed only five unforced errors to Kostyuk’s 17. She won 76 percent of her first-serve points.
Kostyuk entered the event as a late replacement. World number one Elena Rybakina withdrew due to a viral illness.
Kostyuk has two straight-set losses. She is eliminated from semifinal contention.
Pegula will advance with a win over Noskova. She also advances if she loses and Kostyuk defeats Gauff.
Linda Noskova is the first player into the WTA Finals SFs, after easily beating Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3. She is playing GREAT!
Gauff must beat Kostyuk to reach the last four. Noskova must also defeat Pegula for Gauff to advance.
Tuesday’s result marked the fifth victory against a top-10 opponent this season for Noskova. She captured her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July.
A journey like no other, heading to #TheUltimateStage! 🛫 See how Linda Noskova booked her ticket to the FAGE WTA Finals Indian Wells 🎟️@Skyscanner | #FAGEWTAFinals pic.twitter.com/uii6iZaWjr
Pegula’s victory over Kostyuk was her first match win since September. The 32-year-old American secured the decisive break in the 11th game.
Kostyuk has battled a wrist injury since August. She entered the tournament ranked tenth in the race standings.
“Thank you guys for the cheers I’m getting now -” Noskova said. “It was a little weaker in the match, guys, I’m not going to lie,” she told the California crowd after her victory, according to the BBC.
“I feel like I stayed in the match through every moment, from beginning to end,” Noskova said.
“She played solid today,” Gauff said in a post-match interview reported by EssentiallySports. “She’s able to play first-strike tennis…” Gauff added. “I think I didn’t put enough pressure on her,” she said.
Noskova said, “Right after the match finished, I was already focusing on how I'm going to play Jessie in two days.” Pegula spoke about the unique demands of the season-ending format.
Each round-robin victory earns 200 ranking points and $230,000, as noted by Tenniswatcher. Every qualifier gets a $220,000 appearance fee.
Group play concludes on Thursday. Noskova faces Pegula and Gauff plays Kostyuk.
Pegula said, “You kind of want to just get out of there and mentally reset, but you can’t because you have another match.”
Making their mark at the WTA Finals 👊 Linda Noskova is the first player through to the semifinals after defeating Coco Gauff, while @JPegula eliminated Marta Kostyuk in straight-sets. pic.twitter.com/SxZAN2M6Fb