Linda Noskova clinched her first grand slam title with a dramatic 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory over fellow Czech Karolina Muchova at Wimbledon. The 21-year-old led 6-2, 5-2 but missed five match points as Muchova levelled. However, Noskova took a bathroom break and reset brilliantly to become the sixth Czech woman to lift the title in the Open era.
Noskova on trophy inspiration
“What really helped me, the first step I took off court, the trophies were there,” Noskova said. “I was like: ‘I’m not going to take the small one, I’m taking the big one. I have been so close. This will probably be the heartbreak of my life.’ I just kind of started to focus on myself all over again, which was the key point.”
Key moment in the final set
Noskova said the first game of the final set, when she saved three break points, was crucial. “Let’s say I’m brave enough to say that the third set would not have been the same if maybe I would have lost the first game,” she said. “I lost five games in a row in the second one, so it was very, very important to start off in a good way in the third one.”
Resilience and learning
Noskova admitted she would have preferred to finish in two sets but was proud of her resilience. “I feel like if I would have saved the spectators, my team or myself the stress and all the heart-stopping moments, I would say that that would be better. Just winning it this way, really having to fight for it, having all these ups and downs, it matters a lot, but I do have to learn a lot from this match, definitely.”
Muchova reflects on defeat
Muchova described it as “one of my worst matches of the tournament” and revealed the effort of levelling left her almost spent. “She played really fast and I was kind of looking for myself,” she said. “It took a lot of power and strength out of me, I would say, to get back in that second set. I gave it my all.” The 29-year-old, whose only previous slam final was the 2023 French Open loss to Iga Swiatek, tried to focus on positives. “It will definitely take me a few days,” she said. “But I was in the finals. It’s still a pretty great achievement. It’s still something I would take before the tournament. I think my game is good. I’m improving. I feel good on the court. Yeah, it’s a dream of mine, it’s a goal of mine to lift that grand slam trophy. This is a setback, but as well a motivation.”
