Alexandrova knocks out defending champ Noskova to reach Monterrey semis

MONTERREY (Reuters): Russian second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova beat defending champion Linda Noskova 7-6(5) 4-6 6-2 at the Monterrey Open on Thursday to secure her place in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open tune-up event.

Alexandrova, 14th in the world rankings, started the decider brightly after two tightly contested sets and while Czech Noskova fought back to level at 2-2 the Russian regained control to seal victory in just over two hours at the WTA 500 event.

“I’m really glad that I could make it through, even in three sets, because it was difficult today — she served so well, she hit so hard from the baseline that sometimes there was nothing I could do,” Alexandrova said.Next up for Alexandrova is Czech Marie Bouzkova, who carved out a comfortable 6-3 6-2 win over Croatian Antonia Ruzic.

Russian Diana Shnaider also progressed to the semis after fighting back from a set down and saving five match points against Elise Mertens to triumph 3-6 7-6(6) 7-6(4) in three-hour encounter with the Belgian fifth seed.

“Very happy, satisfied and proud to get the win today. I think the level of tennis was huge today,” the third seed said.

World number 22 Shnaider next faces Alycia Parks after the American beat Slovak Rebecca Sramkova 6-2 7-5.

Shnaider holds a 2-1 record against Parks, including a straight-sets victory at Indian Wells earlier this year.

“I’ve played her a couple of times — she’s a great player. I keep telling my self to stay within myself and not really worry about my opponents.”

The U.S. Open runs from August 24 to September 7.