On a stormy Sunday in Germany’s capital, Linda Nosková shone. The Czech 21-year-old won the Berlin Open, defeating Jessica Pegula of the U.S. 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to move into the top 10 of the WTA Tour rankings for the first time.
Nosková’s meeting with Pegula, 32, was delayed by over five hours due to storms over the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club, which left parts of the venue waterlogged and prompted a hasty evacuation of spectators. The management of the evacuation drew public criticism from fans in attendance, especially families, and led the event to apologize if “any individual members of the security staff behaved inappropriately during the evacuation” in a statement on social media.
When the clouds did clear, Nosková staved off a comeback from Pegula in front of a full stadium, playing with clarity and calm through the third set. She slid serves out of Pegula’s reach and cracked groundstrokes flat and true, coming out on top in a contest between two of the most rhythmic players in the women’s game.
Serena and Venus Williams are reuniting at Wimbledon
Ava Wallace
“You’re incredible and a very tricky player to play on whatever surface,” Nosková said during the trophy ceremony.
“I don’t know where I’m gonna put this trophy, it’s too heavy, I mean come on,” she joked.
“It’s my second title. Like I said, you never forget the first one. But you also never forget the second one as well.”
Nosková’s title, and Pegula’s run to the final, in which she outclassed world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, adds further intrigue to a hugely exciting Wimbledon field on the women’s side. The American, who last year won the next Wimbledon warm-up, the Bad Homburg Open (beating Nosková in the semifinals), has added zip and accuracy to her serve, while Nosková can take the racket out of any player’s hands on fast, slick grass.
Nosková did that to Pegula during the first set Sunday, but Pegula took advantage of a dip in efficiency — something which Nosková can find difficult to stave off because of her aggressive style — to steal the second and force a decider. But come that third set, Nosková found something close to her ceiling again and took back control of the match, even forcing Pegula to save a championship point on her own serve.
Should Nosková be able to close the gap between her ceiling and her floor, her name will become a very familiar sight among the top 10 of women’s tennis.
There was more Czech success against the U.S. at the Nottingham Open in England, a WTA 250 event. Marie Bouzková recovered from an issue with her left ankle to defeat Emma Navarro 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2, and claim her first grass-court title.
