In a Wimbledon final which no one predicted, and a victor no one anticipated, Linda Noskova became the proud recipient of the Venus Rosewater Dish after a spectacular three-set win over her senior compatriot, Karolina Muchova. The match was a rollercoaster of emotions for Noskova, who dominated, had a spectacular meltdown in the second set, but then showed steely resolve to win it all in the third. The 21-year-old was all tongue-in-cheek in her speech with fellow countrywoman, but did not forget to give her due credit.

“Karo, you really made me work for it. I will not forget you this one, but yeah, as you said, we’re friends. I’m so glad that I could play my first Grand Slam final with you. I think we made history today”, said Noskova during her on-court interview with tears in her eyes. “To all the Czech fans at home who are proud of us no matter the result today, I think it was a good day for both of us”. Congratulations to your team, you especially have been such a fighter, and you guys have had two weeks for you and the great season, congrats as well”.

Noskova showed no signs of playing in her maiden Grand Slam final, as she got an early break in the first set, taking an early 3-1 lead. The 21-year-old served well in the set, not giving her opponent any looks on her serve, getting a 5-2 lead. In the eighth game, Noskova attacked the Muchova serve once more, and even though the latter saved four set points, there was no stopping the younger player, who took the first set 6-2. The young Czech’s dominance continued, as she quickly built a 5-2 lead in the second set.

From that point on, the match changed, as Muchova went on an amazing rescue act to win five consecutive games in the second set, while saving five match points. Noskova looked visibly shaken, with her fingers in her ears to block out the noise, and a forlorn look as she changed the towel in her head. However, in a similarly spectacular fashion, she regrouped and played the tennis she had in the first set in the decider. She got an early break and held her serve till the end to win the match. During her downward phase in the match, Noskova kept looking at her box, seeking inspiration from her team and family, including her father.

“I want to thank my team. I want to thank my dad for coming here and my family members for flying here. I know you don’t like flying, so I appreciate it”, said Noskova in her piece. I want to thank all my friends, supporters, sponsors, agents, and my whole team. I want to thank Agatha for the best atmosphere manager I could wish for. And I want to thank my coach for being with me, which is not easy all the time, but we have been together for six years now, I think, and I’m so grateful for you. would not be here without you.

Noskova’s journey at SW19 was nothing short of miraculous in the past two weeks,s the Czech player was herself on the verge of being knocked out in the third round of the competition.

Linda Noskova had to save a match point at Wimbledon

Even though not one of the outright favorites to win, Noskova’s grass court prowess was well-known, and she was in good form on the surface as she won the Berlin Open in the buildup to Wimbledon. Entering as the tenth seed, she had victories over Ella Siedel and Camila Osorio to start her campaign.

However, it was in the third-round match against Sorana Cirstea, where Noskova was up against it. In the final-set tiebreak, the Romanian player had a match point against the Czech, which she saved, then went on to win the match. That win gave her the freedom to play attacking tennis in the next matches, as she beat the likes of Madison Keys, Elise Mertens, and Marta Kostyuk without dropping a set to reach the final.

The final against Muchova was another show of determination from Noskova, who won the third set by a fair margin despite the traumatic second set. Her Wimbledon campaign makes her only the third player, after the Williams sisters, to win the singles title at SW19 while saving a match point.