Kostyuk continues undefeated start to clay season with Madrid quarterfinal win

Marta Kostyuk defeated No. 13 seed Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 6-0 in 1 hour and 27 minutes Wednesday night to extend the best stretch of her career and advance to the Madrid semifinals for the first time. It goes in the books as a dominant victory for the Ukrainian, who seized control in the first-set tiebreaker and never let go on a night when conditions were far from ideal.

"Conditions were incredibly difficult for both of us," Kostyuk said in her on-court interview. "It was very windy, very cold and I felt like we started to gain some (momentum) only towards the end of the first set. Until then, I think we both weren't sure where the ball was going sometimes. But I'm happy that I did my strategy today very well."

Madrid: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Next, she'll face lucky loser Anastasia Potapova for a spot in her first WTA 1000 final. Kostyuk is 2-2 against Potapova at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level, but she has won their last two meetings in straight sets, including their most recent encounter last year in Madrid. Mirra Andreeva and Hailey Baptiste will meet in the other semifinal.

And while each of the last four has a claim to being the tournament favorite -- Andreeva won Linz, Baptiste just beat Aryna Sabalenka, and Potapova upset Rybakina -- don’t overlook Kostyuk. She lifted the trophy in Rouen earlier this month and, with Wednesday's win, improved to 9-0 this clay season.

She is also the only player, across both the women's and men's singles draw, to reach this year's semifinal at the Mutua Madrid Open without conceding a set.

That streak was in real danger early against Noskova, who opened with a 2-0 lead and won 10 of the first 11 points to make an immediate statement. But any momentum in the opening set proved fleeting. Kostyuk broke back on her fifth break point of the third game to get back on serve at 2-1, the first of four straight games she won.

Twice the No. 26 seed served for the set, and twice she was denied, as Noskova broke both times. Breaks and break points defined the set. Both players broke four times, with Noskova doing so efficiently (4 of 5) and Kostyuk far less so (4 of 18).

Noskova saved 14 break points in the set, more than any other player has faced in the opening set of a WTA 1000 match so far this season. But it wasn't enough. Kostyuk raced out to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak and closed the set in 64 minutes when a Noskova forehand sailed long.

The Czech never regained her footing. Kostyuk won 26 points to just eight for Noskova in the second set, needing only 23 minutes to dish out a bagel, which she iced with a blistering forehand return winner.

It capped an all-around quality performance from Kostyuk, who finished with 24 winners to 19 unforced errors and won over 82% (28 of 34) of points on return against Noskova's second serve -- the highest rate of any player in a single WTA 1000 match this season.

"It was not easy to return her serve," Kostyuk said in her post-match press conference. "Sometimes she would accelerate it and change pace. With the wind today and the weird bounces sometimes on clay, it was not easy. But, yeah, I just tried to put pressure on her.

"I think it was working really well today also because it was cold, so the ball was not bouncing as much as it usually bounces during the day or when it's warmer. I think generally both of us were returning pretty well today. But, yeah, as I said, I think just trying to put her on the move or pressure her from the second serve helped to get that stat probably."

Whatever the formula, the result is the same. Kostyuk is through to the 10th WTA semifinal of her career and her third of 2026, matching her single-season highs from 2021 and 2024. One more win would send her to a third final in a single year for the first time.