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Noskova into WTA top 10 following Berlin title win over Pegula

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Linda Noskova was crowned the Berlin Open champion after edging a three-set thriller against Jessica Pegula in Sunday's showpiece match at Steffi Graf Stadion. 

Noskova earned an impressive 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory in just under two hours, with her triumph also ensuring she will be inside the top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time. 

The eighth seed made a strong start by reeling off the first three games, though Pegula repeated the trick to level things up once more as the pair continued to trade blows. 

However, Noskova was able to break the American's serve to take the opening set, though she did need four set points to eventually get herself in front in the German capital. 

But Pegula came out swinging in the second set, finishing with a flourish by winning three of the final four games to ensure the encounter would go the distance. 

Noskova began the decider as she started the match, surging into a 3-0 lead, and that deficit proved too much for Pegula to come back from. The Czech sealed her second career title when her opponent returned her blistering serve long of the back baseline. 

Noskova follows in Vondrousova's footsteps in Berlin

During her run to the final, Noskova overcame some stern tests against Paula Badosa and Alexandra Eala, but she arguably saved her best performance until last, with her win seeing her surpass Karolina Muchova and become the new Czech number one. 

She also backed up compatriot Marketa Vondrousova's triumph in Berlin 12 months ago. It is the first time that two different players from the same nation have won the title in consecutive editions in the tournament's history. 

Noskova also improved her record to 17-1 when taking the first set, with her last such defeat coming against Mirra Andreeva in Brisbane back in January. She will now travel to Bad Homburg before beginning her Wimbledon campaign.