'I can play with the best': Noskova breaks through to first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon

Linda Noskova joined compatriot Karolina Muchova in reaching the Wimbledon final on Thursday, defeating No. 12 seed Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour and 19 minutes on Centre Court to reach her first Grand Slam final. At age 21, she is the youngest women's singles finalist at Wimbledon since Eugenie Bouchard in 2014.

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The young Czech showed a remarkable clutch gene in the biggest win of her career. She broke serve in the final game of both sets, using the same formula that carried her past Elise Mertens in the quarterfinals. Earlier in the tournament, she saved a match point against Sorana Cirstea to navigate past the third round.

"For me, (the plan) is always just to focus on myself and to focus on my game," Noskova said in her on-court interview. "When I play my best, I know that I can play with the best players in the world and have a great result, which is a final at a Grand Slam, I guess."

Muchova saved a match point earlier Thursday to secure her place in the championship match, meaning Noskova's victory sets up the first all-Czech Major final. It also marks the first women's singles Grand Slam final between players representing the same country since Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys met in the 2017 US Open final, and the first time it has happened at Wimbledon since Serena and Venus Williams clashed in 2009.

After leveling her WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz head-to-head with Kostyuk at 1-1, Noskova will look to do the same against Muchova, who won their lone meeting in three sets at last year's US Open.

Noskova delivers with first Slam final in her sights

Both Noskova and Muchova will enter the final with the pressure of a first Grand Slam title on the line, a magnified version of Thursday's semifinal scenario, when Noskova and Kostyuk were each bidding to reach their first Major final. Both handled the moment well until the last game of the opening set.

There, Kostyuk immediately fell into a 0-40 hole she could not climb out of, paving the way for Noskova to seize the early advantage. The Czech won eight of the final nine points to claim the opener.

"I always try to focus on my serve first just to keep my service games," Noskova said in her post-match press conference. "Then whatever happens on the return games happens. It's not always in my power to control those games. If I could have only sets like this, it would have been the easiest -- always just one break for each set. But it's never really that easy, unfortunately."

Noskova again pressured Kostyuk's serve early in the second set, breaking to love for a commanding 3-1 lead. But Kostyuk responded with her first break point of the match in the next game and converted with a crosscourt forehand winner to get back on serve at 3-2. Despite her resilience, it proved to be her lone opportunity of the day. 

After another steady Noskova hold -- she won 74% of her first-serve points and 58% of her second-serve points -- in the penultimate game, Kostyuk again succumbed to the pressure created by her unfazed opponent, pushing a final forehand wide to send Noskova into the final.

What it means

Noskova is the third player born since 2004 to reach a women's singles Grand Slam final, following Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva, and the second Czech player in the Open Era to reach her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon after Petra Kvitova in 2011, a player she admired growing up.

This will be the first women's singles Major in which both finalists saved a match point en route since the 2018 Australian Open (Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep). It is also the first Wimbledon women's singles final between players who each won a WTA lead-up event on grass since 1990, ending the long-standing grass warmup curse.

Instead, the matchup features the two players with the joint most WTA-level match wins on grass this season, as Noskova and Muchova each have 11.

This will be the eighth WTA final of Noskova's career. She holds a 2-5 record in her previous seven championship matches. Muchova will contest her 10th final and her second Grand Slam final after falling to Iga Swiatek in three sets in the 2023 Roland Garros final. She owns a 3-6 record in finals.