Linda Noskova and Lulu Sun meet in Monterrey Open final

MONTERREY, Mexico — Sixth-seeded Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic defeated second-seeded Emma Navarro of the United States 7-6 (7), 7-5 on Friday night to reach the final of the Monterrey Open.

The 19-year-old Noskova will face Lulu Sun from New Zealand on Saturday. Both ladies are fighting for their first WTA Tour title in the hardcourt tournament at the Sonoma Club.

Sun defeated Russian third-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the first semifinal. Last week, Sun defeated Noskova 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the round of 64 at the Cincinnati Open.

Noskova was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in January, while the 23-year-old Sun reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last month, becoming the first qualifying player to reach that stage since 2010.

Sun won the deciding match for the University of Texas in the 2021 NCAA team championship in her lone collegiate season.