Former finalist Pegula, Wimbledon champion Noskova reach third round in Cincinnati

Former finalist Jessica Pegula and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova had little trouble in joining Amanda Anisimova as Top 10 players to advance to the third round of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday.

After Anisimova dropped five games against Zeynep Sonmez to start the day's action, Pegula, the No. 3 seed, was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Switzerland's Simona Waltert -- an identical scoreline to Anisimova.

No. 6 seed Noskova, meanwhile, scored her first win since taking home her first Grand Slam singles title last month against Katie Boulter, 6-3, 6-3.

Pegula prioritizes return after Toronto exit

Pegula, who lost in the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open to Diana Shnaider, said she was prioritizing return of serve in practice after "not returning well" in Canada. 

It showed against Waltert, the World No. 87. Pegula created 11 break point chances against the Swiss' serve and converted six. She won more than half -- close to 60% -- of the points played in Waltert's service games.

"It was a tough match," Pegula said afterwards. "I never played her before. I didn't know what to expect. It's always difficult, but I see she's had some good results and some close matches with good players. ... It's been, I think, a good turnaround for me, and always nice to get the first one here."

Noskova says "It's still tennis" as she adjusts to new status

After an early exit in Toronto, Noskova would've been forgiven to be forlorn when she fell behind an early break against Boulter.

instead, a quick adjustment to her "mental state" was key in the straight-sets win. After losing the first game, Noskova broke back immediately, and won four straight games to take a lead she'd never relinquish. 

Noskova served 10 aces in the win, and also never faced a break point in the second set.

"It's never easy to start the match a break down immediately ... Katie, she's a great player and I knew that it was going to be tough," she said. "I had to find my rhythm and find my game."

With her first win as a Grand Slam champion in the books, the 21-year-old Czech said she has tried not to let the attention surrounding her breakthrough change her approach, instead focusing on the same routines and process that have gotten her to this point.

"I still have not probably 100% realized what happened in the last couple of weeks," she said. "It's still the same, it's still tennis, the court is still the same. Nothing changed, I had to get back and start all over again like nothing happened."