London [UK], July 10: Linda Noskova saw off Marta Kostyuk to set up a first all-Czech women's grand slam singles final at Wimbledon.
After compatriot Karolina Muchova edged a nervy thriller against Coco Gauff, Noskova had a more comfortable time on Centre Court.
The 21-year-old is at home on grass having won more matches on the surface than any other woman over the past two years and she was the steadier of the two power hitters, winning 6-4 6-4.
Wins for Muchova and ninth seed Noskova continued the remarkable run of success at the All England Club for Czech women.
Whoever wins will become the third winner from the country in the last four years after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova the following year, with previous champions including Petra Kvitova and Jana Novotna.
All Martina Navratilova's nine titles came under the United States flag but the Prague native remains a central figure in the Czech Wimbledon story.
"One thing I do remember is when Petra Kvitova won here," said Noskova. "This was maybe one of the first moments when I realised a sport such as tennis exists. I'm still in shock that I had the chance to play on this court.
"Karolina, she is such a great fighter, an incredible player, but mainly she's a great person and I'm glad I get to play my first final with her." Like the first semi-final, this was a meeting between two first-time semi-finalists at the All England Club.
For 21-year-old Noskova, it was a first time at this stage at any slam, while Kostyuk broke that barrier last month at the French Open only to lose quickly to Mirra Andreeva.
Both women arrived in London in form, with Kostyuk's defeat ending a run of 22 wins in her last 23 matches, while Noskova won the stacked warm-up tournament in Berlin.
They had met only once before, with Kostyuk winning on clay in Madrid, and the surface here certainly favoured Noskova.
Nevertheless, there was little to choose between them in the first set until the 10th game when scoreboard pressure told on Kostyuk, who gave up three set points and double-faulted on the second.
Noskova moved a step closer still with a break for 3-1 in the second set but that seemed to free up Kostyuk, who was bidding to become the first Ukrainian woman in the open era to reach a slam final, and she played two of her best games of the match to level.
However, stepping up to serve at 4-5, history repeated itself, and a forehand blazed wide on Noskova's second match point sent the 21-year-old through to a first major final.
Gauff haunted by missed match point
Gauff admitted she will be thinking about her missed match point for a long time after blowing a golden chance to reach a first Wimbledon final.
The 22-year-old was 9-8 up in a deciding 10-point tie-break against Karolina Muchova and just had to lift the ball over the net into an empty court to win.
But Gauff found the tape, Muchova breathed again and then the Czech 10th seed converted her second match point to win a see-saw semi-final 6-2 1-6 7-6 (12/10).
"Definitely going to think about that point," said the American. "I mean, there's one thing to be, like, why play a drop-shot? But then I think how many points I won off the drop-shot.
"Yes, people who don't watch tennis are going to be like 'why did you do that?' At the end of the day, that's the choice I made."
Source: Qatar Tribune
