Czech player Linda Noskova produced a dominant performance to defeat the Philippines’ Alex Eala, seeded 31st, in straight sets and reach her first tour-level quarterfinal of the season at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Tuesday.
Playing the final match of the day on Stadium 1, Noskova began by breaking Eala’s serve in the first game and never looked back. She held to go up 2-0, and from 4-2 in the first set, No. 14 seed Noskova won eight games in a row to close out the match 6-2, 6-0 in 55 minutes.
Noskovam ranked No. 14 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, hit seven aces and saved the only break point she faced. She converted five of eight break-point opportunities against Eala’s serve.
“I was definitely feeling very well prepared from the start to the end,” Noskova said during her post-match interview on court. “I was using my serve a lot, obviously putting as much pressure as I could and trying to keep the rallies under control.”
Competing in Indian Wells for the fourth time in her career, Noskova reached the quarterfinals at the tournament for the first time. At 21, she is the second-youngest Czech player to reach three quarterfinals at the WTA 1000 level since the format was introduced in 2009, older only than Marketa Vondrousova. She is also one of three Czech women to reach the round of 16 this fortnight, along with No. 13 seed Karolina Muchova and Katerina Siniakova.
“I feel like I really, really enjoyed playing here because it was such a big, great feeling for me step on such court and have some fans, not all of them, but some fans,” she added.
Noskova will face Australian qualifier Talia Gibson for a place in the semifinals. The two players are the only competitors to have hit more than 100 winners this week. It will be their first meeting on tour.
