Riyadh, Nov 13:
Fifth-ranked American Jessica Pegula saved a match point before rallying past Linda Noskova 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the WTA Finals semifinals, sealing Coco Gauff’s elimination from the tournament despite the latter’s straight-sets win over Marta Kostyuk.
Firing a career-best 16 aces in the decisive Group One encounter, Pegula saved a match point at 5-4 in the third set with an ace before breaking Noskova in the subsequent game and closing out the contest to finish second in the group behind the already-qualified Czech. “Linda’s such a great player. Every time we’ve played, if you see the scoreline of our past matches, it’s literally the same match every time. I knew I was going to get my chances,” Pegula said ahead of Saturday’s semifinal clash against Group Two winner Mirra Andreeva.
Earlier, world No. 4 Gauff staged a remarkable comeback from 5-1 down in the second set—saving three set points and reeling off six straight games—to beat Ukraine’s Kostyuk 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 39 minutes, but Pegula’s victory ended her hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.