Noskova lifts Monterrey Open trophy for first WTA title
The Czech teen registered a straight-set victory over Sun in the final on Saturday
Linda Noskova celebrates.
(Image: Zuma / Panoramic)
Linda Noskova, from the Czech Republic, beat New Zealand’s Lulu Sun 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the final of the Monterrey Open at Sonoma Club on Saturday to win her first WTA singles title.
Noskova and Sun produced an intense fight as they tussled for an hour and 50 minutes. The match opened with the Czech breaking in the second game of the first set but her opponent broke back in the third.
The two then remained on serve and induced a tiebreaker, where Noskova saved two set points and later converted one to take the lead.
The second set panned out in straightforward fashion with the 19-year-old Czech breaking Sun’s serve once in the fifth game. The remaining games remained on serve as Noskova clinched her first glory on Tour.
“I’ve been waiting for a title or for a trophy for some time now, so it just feels amazing to win such a big tournament here this week.”
Linda Noskova
Sun notably smashed a staggering 13 aces against Noskova’s four but double faulted five times as compared to the latter’s three. She also maintained a first-serve percentage of 62, which was higher than the champion’s 54.
Noskova, however, fared better in conversion rates as she won 79 percent of her first-serve and 58 percent of her second-serve points, whereas Sun averaged 77 percent and 41 percent, respectively.
“We played some great tennis, her forehand was really killing,” Noskova said praising the New Zealander as per the WTA Tour. “So I tried to stay off of it as much as possible. But it was tough at times, especially when I was 4-6 [down] in the tiebreak. I’m glad I managed to change that into my positive.”
This was the duo’s second meeting on the court. The two previously faced each other in the first round of the 2024 Cincinnati Open, where Sun prevailed 6-4, 7-6(4). Thus, their head-to-head tally is now balanced at 1-1.
For Noskova, who turned professional in July 2019, it was a third tour-level final after the disappointing results at Prague Open and Adelaide 1 in 2023. In her glorious campaign at Monterrey WTA 500, she defeated Kazakh qualifier Anna Danilina (6-0, 6-1), Chinese Xiyu Wang (6-4, 7-6 (11)), No 5 seed Elina Svitolina (6-4, 6-4) and No 2 seed Emma Navarro (7-6 (7), 7-5) before the summit clash.
The world No 25 now sets her sight on the 2024 US Open, where she’s scheduled to play against Yulia Putintseva in the first round. Her previous campaign in New York finished in the second round, with a loss to Ons Jabeur.
