John McEnroe claimed Karolina Muchova looked out of ideas for the first half of Saturday's women's Wimbledon final as she fell to defeat against Linda Noskova. The all-Czech final pitted ninth seed Noskova against tenth seed Muchova in what promised to be a tightly contested affair on Centre Court.
Noskova's early dominance
21-year-old Noskova, the youngest Wimbledon finalist since Eugenie Bouchard in 2014, looked like she was going to coast to victory after winning the first set 6-2 and storming 5-2 ahead in the second. However, Muchova, who impressed when beating Coco Gauff to reach the final, rallied superbly to prolong the contest, breaking back twice and saving five championship points to take the second set 7-5.
Noskova composed herself impressively in between sets and roared back in the decider, winning 6-3 in the third set to claim her first Grand Slam title. Muchova has now lost in both of her Grand Slam final appearances, having also fallen short in the 2023 French Open to Iga Swiatek.
McEnroe's criticism of Muchova
Commentating on the match for the BBC, former three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe was stunned by how lost the 29-year-old looked in the costly early stages of this encounter. 'She is usually very calm, Muchova, but she doesn't look that way right now,' McEnroe said at the end of the first set. 'She's looking like she doesn't know what to do right now. She just has never seemed to understand what she needs to do or is capable of doing. I don't know if she's too wound up or the body is just let down from getting to this point or the Coco Gauff match.'
McEnroe was particularly confused by Muchova's approach to returning Noskova's serve in the early going, adding: 'That's where she's giving up too much ground, to me, is off that return. Muchova was way back for a 93 mph serve and didn't cut the angle off at all. I'm not quite sure why she keeps allowing that to happen.'
Praise for Noskova's resilience
Meanwhile, McEnroe was keen to praise Noskova's resilience after the 21-year-old looked like she might wilt, having thrown away the second set in dramatic fashion. 'How about her resilience and character,' he said. 'Her heart to find something within, that gear when you have been so close so many times and it absolutely should have been yours in straight sets. That is one of the all-time greatest efforts mentally that you will ever see on this court to come back and win this match. Sometimes you feel lucky when you are sitting here and this is one of those times. It was two athletes doing everything they possibly could do to win this title.'
Two-time Grand Slam champion Tracy Austin added: 'I'm so impressed, at 6-2 5-2, with the way she was playing. It's more impressive to come back after missing five championship points, to be able to regroup and take the third set 6-3.'
Emotional tribute from Noskova
Speaking after the match, Noskova delivered an emotional winner's speech as she paid tribute to her mother, who passed away in 2024. 'There's one more person I'd like to thank which is my mum, I definitely would not be standing here without her, so thank you,' she said. 'I don't cry normally, this is not okay for me! I have been enjoying these two weeks so much, all the sad tears, all the happy tears, all the sweat and blood put into this, it was all worth it. I will definitely never forget these two weeks. One more thing, I want to thank all the fans, you guys made this final like nothing I've ever experienced before so I can't wait to come back next year.'
