Nervy Noskova downs fellow Czech Muchova to win first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/noskova-linda/zHMiAkw6/"]Noskova[/a], seeded ninth, appeared to be on the brink of a devastating loss when she broke down in tears after squandering those match points in the second set of a Centre Court classic.[/p][p]But the 21-year-old somehow regained her composure in a final with more twists than a Hollywood blockbuster.[/p][p]Summoning incredible resilience, Noskova clinched her maiden Grand Slam crown with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/muchova-k-Or4Qa1ye/noskova-l-zHMiAkw6/?mid=pGyvP4BC"]a remarkable 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory[/a] over her 10th-seeded compatriot.[/p][p]Quite how she was able to avoid a complete meltdown in the aftermath of her mid-match collapse will go down in the annals of Wimbledon lore.[/p][p][b]In two hours and 28 minutes of unrelenting drama, Noskova showed the heart of a champion to establish herself as the youngest woman to win Wimbledon in 15 years.[/b][/p][embed guid="752a3b6d-11c5-42f7-b9b1-a99185e93f8e" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQcj8crPHTs" social-type="youtube" /][p]The third tour-level title of Noskova's career emulated the success of her compatriot [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kvitova-petra/0vypNf1t/"]Petra Kvitova[/a], who was the same age when she won the first of her two Wimbledon crowns in 2011.[/p][p]It was a full circle moment for Noskova, who was inspired to take up tennis by the Wimbledon success of her childhood idol Kvitova.[/p][p]Fittingly, Kvitova was watching from the royal box as Noskova celebrated her breakthrough victory.[/p][p][b]For the third time in the last four years, a Czech woman won Wimbledon following [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/krejcikova-barbora/2FyACZYi/"]Barbora Krejcikova[/a] in 2024 and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vondrousova-marketa/EgKYrSR5/"]Marketa Vondrousova[/a] in 2023.[/b][/p][p]Noskova, who banked the winner's prize of £3.6 million, has emerged as one of the rising stars of the women's game during her remarkable run at the All England Club.[/p][p]Like Kvitova, Noskova has been a quick learner on grass, having only played her first match on the surface in Birmingham in 2023.[/p][p]She has won more matches on grass than any other player on the WTA Tour in the past two years.[/p][image alt="Key match stats" id="4edffd8d-06e2-4018-a17d-b6d9ef9edee8" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="2be34ca6-2ed9-493c-bae0-0b5610041f9f" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Even so, she had never been past the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam prior to arriving at Wimbledon two weeks ago.[/p][p]Lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish was hard to imagine for Noskova when she faced match point against Sorana Cirstea in the third round.[/p][h2]Noskova comes back from depths of despair[/h2][p]Noskova is only the third woman to win Wimbledon after saving a match point earlier in the tournament, joining Venus Williams (2005) and Serena Williams (2009).[/p][p]Noskova is also the first woman since Maria Sharapova in 2004 to clinch a tour event on grass, in Berlin in June, and then win Wimbledon in the same year.[/p][p]With her love of baking, penchant for lucky charms and unusual rituals - besides the piercing in her nose, she has matcha tea served by a friend every morning during the tournament - the quirky Noskova is a colourful addition to Wimbledon's list of champions.[/p][p]She has a painful Wimbledon memory - in 2024, she entered the tournament shortly after her mother had died of cancer.[/p][p]Now she has a happier one to ease a little of that pain.[/p][p]In the first Open-era Grand Slam final between two Czech women, the pair are long-time friends; it was Noskova who took the first set with ease.[/p][p]But that didn't begin to tell the story to come.[/p][embed guid="6effb63c-6fc4-496c-8dee-2d10df7e7b3b" url="https://x.com/Wimbledon/status/2076010942706430168" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Noskova wobbled spectacularly, wasting four match points and allowing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/muchova-karolina/Or4Qa1ye/"]Muchova[/a] to break back when she served for the match in the second set.[/b][/p][p]Putting her fingers in her ears to block out the crowd's stunned reaction, Noskova squandered another match point as Muchova held to level at 5-5.[/p][p]Noskova covered her head in a towel and appeared to wipe away tears before Muchova closed out the set.[/p][p]She stormed off court before the deciding set, taking a break that proved decisive.[/p][p]From the depths of despair, she broke early in the set and finally sealed her victory before collapsing to the turf in disbelief.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/muchova-k-Or4Qa1ye/noskova-l-zHMiAkw6/summary/stats/?mid=pGyvP4BC"]See all the match stats and more on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p][infobox id="e4d8200d-597f-48d7-83c2-d394f1217426" /]