Noskova powers into first grass‑court final with dominant semifinal win over Eala in Berlin

Linda Noskova has officially reached a flow state in Berlin. After rain delayed the start of the match, the 21-year-old raced past Alexandra Eala 6-2, 6-4 in 69 minutes Saturday -- one minute longer than her quarterfinal win over Paula Badosa -- to reach her first grass-court final and the seventh WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz final of her career.

Berlin: Scores | Order of play | Draws

Noskova has yet to drop a set in Berlin across four matches, and the six games she lost to Eala were the most any opponent has taken off her this week.

"I feel like I have to say something smart, like my serve or my shots, but I'm just feeling really comfortable on court," Noskova said in her on-court interview. "That's the core of where it's coming from."

Noskova improved to 2-0 against Eala, with both wins coming this season. Eala managed just two games in their Indian Wells encounter, so while Saturday wasn't particularly close, it was a far more competitive contest between the two 21-year-olds.

But Eala still had no answers for the firepower Noskova brought. As she has all week, the young Czech went big, and when that didn't work, she went even bigger.

She finished with 33 winners, including nine aces, against just 15 unforced errors to overwhelm her opponent. Her aggression on return was equally punishing, as she dictated the majority of points and kept Eala off balance on serve. Noskova broke five times, converting five of her six break chances, including one in the penultimate game of the match.

To Eala's credit, she broke Noskova twice, but it wasn't enough to turn the tide. The closest she got was when she rattled off three straight games to take a 4-3 lead in the second set, but Noskova responded immediately with three straight games of her own to close out the match.

Her serving numbers were once again elite. In addition to her nine aces, she won 83% of her first-serve points, losing just six (29 of 35) all match.

Noskova will now turn her attention to Jessica Pegula, who defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 earlier in the day to advance to her second Berlin final. Noskova leads their head-to-head 2-1, winning the most recent meeting in last year's Beijing semifinals last year in three sets. Pegula, however, won their lone grass encounter -- a three-set semifinal victory in Bad Homburg last year en route to the title.

Noskova, who won the opening set in that match, hasn't forgotten.

"It's going to be a tough one, obviously," Noskova said. "Jessie, she's very tricky, especially for her game style on grass. So I'll do my best to prepare for that and maybe get revenge."

A win Sunday would deliver plenty: her second career title -- and second at the WTA 500 level -- her first grass-court trophy, her Top 10 debut, and the Czech No. 1 ranking ahead of Karolina Muchova.

And a sweep remains in play, as Noskova and Ekaterina Alexandrova are also through to the doubles semifinals.