The final without surprises?

Two outstanding waitresses ..

… face off in this Beijing final. Given the semifinal, both Pegula and Noskova deserved to be there. What a battle! The Czech was the one who took the most risks in the end, despite getting broken at 6/5 in the 3rd set and saving 3 match points before snatching the deciding tiebreak 8/6. And what about Amanda… Unplayable! Coco didn’t even have time to establish a strategy, and sadly confirmed her usual double-fault stat. Amanda is showing an indecent 85% of points won behind first serves.

What are Linda’s chances? We saw a real dip in the second set when Pegula accelerated, so slim, I’d say. 11 aces for the Czech, sure, but what’s that worth against the world’s queen of return? I have very few arguments, to be honest, since I just don’t see a “cut” getting through.

It’s still a final, with its very particular atmosphere, and bravo to Linda for making it this far! Amanda trembled during her Wimbledon final, but here, even the mental side is almost exemplary.