Jessica Pegula moved into position to collect her second Berlin Tennis Open title in three years with a 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 victory over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the semifinal on Saturday.
The third-seeded Pegula destroyed the top-seeded Sabalenka’s second serves throughout the match, winning 61.5% of her second-service returns (24 of 39). Pegula converted five of her 16 break-point opportunities while turning away six of Sabalenka’s seven break points.
Pegula will meet either No. 8 seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic or unseeded Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in Sunday’s final of the WTA 500 event. Eala upset No. 2 Elena Rybakina and No. 6 Elina Svitolina to reach the semifinal.
Lexus Nottingham Open
Third-seeded Emma Navarro and fourth-seeded Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic advanced to Sunday’s final in Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Navarro defeated Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic 7-6 (5), 6-2 to earn a chance for her second title in four weeks. Navarro, who converted six of 18 break points against her 33-year-old opponent, won the International de Strasbourg final on May 23 in France.
While Navarro needed one hour, 59 minutes to claim her win in the semifinal, Bouzkova required just 79 minutes to handle Czech Karolina Pliskova by a 6-4, 6-1 count. Pliskova committed seven double faults and won just 23.7% of her first-service returns (9 of 38).
Navarro and Bouzkova, ranked Nos. 25 and No. 27 in the world, respectively, have never met in singles.
–Field Level Media
