Linda Noskova will play compatriot Karolina Muchova in the first all-Czech women’s final in Wimbledon history after easing past an out-of-sorts Marta Kostyuk on Thursday.
The ninth seed dropped serve only once throughout her 6-4, 6-4 win over a lacklustre Kostyuk, who produced 22 unforced errors. Noskova is the youngest player from her country to reach a final at SW19 since Petra Kvitova in 2011. She has now won 19 Tour-level matches on the grass since the start of last year, which is more than any other WTA player in this time frame. Coming into the tournament, she had won a warm-up event in Berlin.
“A semi-final at a Grand Slam is never easy, no matter who you are playing,” Noskova said afterwards.
“I just tried to be as patient as possible. I tried to keep cool and somehow get the last point.”
Facing a player who has won 22 Tour-level matches since the start of the European clay swing, Noskova stood firm behind her serve throughout the opening set, winning 16 out of 18 points behind her first serve. In contrast, Kostyuk faltered at the worst possible moment. The Ukrainian hit three consecutive unforced errors when serving 4-5 down. Two points after this, she produced a double fault to surrender the opener.
It wasn’t until an hour into the match that Noskova was tested. She lost a 3-1 lead in the second set due to a brief Kostyuk resurgence that saw her convert her first break point in the match before drawing level. Despite the threat, the composed 21-year-old Noskova worked her way to one game from victory with relative ease. She closed the match out with the help of another forehand error from Kostyuk.
“For me, it’s always just to focus on myself and my game,” she said of her tactics used.
“When I play my best, I know I can play with the best players in the world and have a great result, which is a final in a Grand Slam.”
Noskova will take on Muchova for the Wimbledon title on Saturday, who was her doubles partner during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Muchova ousted Coco Gauff in a three-set roller-coaster. Until this year’s Wimbledon, she had only reached the last eight of a Grand Slam once, which was two years ago at the Australian Open.
“I was not watching a lot of tennis as a kid, but one thing I remember is Petra winning here (at Wimbledon). That was one of the first moments I realised that such a sport as tennis existed,” Noskova remembers.
“I am still in shock that I had a chance in my life to play on Centre Court and get a win.” She added.
The Wimbledon final will be the first clash between two players who have both won lead-up events on grass since 1990.
