Pegula saves match point to reach WTA Finals semifinals

Jessica Pegula saved a match point to beat Linda Noskova 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5 on Thursday and reach the WTA Finals semifinals in Indian Wells, while fellow American Coco Gauff failed to survive the group despite a win over Marta Kostyuk.

Serving at 4-5 in the decider, Pegula saved a match point when Noskova sent a forehand long. The fifth seed held for 5-5, broke Noskova in the next game and served out the match to reach her third WTA Finals semifinal.

"She did a great job of turning the match around in the second set and I had to do the same in the third," Pegula said after the match.

The eight singles players are divided into two groups of four, with the top two in each group advancing to the semifinals, where each group winner faces the runner-up from the other group. When three players finish with the same record after playing all three matches, the first tiebreaker is the percentage of sets won.

Noskova, Pegula and Gauff all finished 2-1 in Group 1. Noskova topped the group with a 5-2 record in sets, while Pegula ranked second at 5-3 and Gauff finished third at 4-3. The set Pegula won after saving a match point against Gauff in their opening match ultimately gave her the edge in the standings.

Earlier in the day, Gauff beat Ukraine's Kostyuk 6-4, 7-5. The 2024 champion took a medical timeout for lower-back tightness in the second set, then saved three set points on serve at 1-5 before winning six games in a row.

"Honestly, I don't even know how I got to 6-5. It felt like a blink," Gauff said, adding that she took some pace off her serve and relied more on her arm to limit how much she had to rotate.

Kostyuk also exited after finishing group play 0-3.