Czech mates
LONDON—Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova will put their friendship on hold when they fight for the Wimbledon title on Saturday after the Czech pair took contrasting paths to their first All England Club final.
Muchova saved a match point in a pulsating 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) semifinal win against two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff that lasted over two hours in sweltering 33-degree (Celsius) heat on Thursday.
Just hours later, Noskova followed Muchova onto Centre Court to dispatch Ukrainian 12th seed Marta Kostyuk with a dominant 6-4, 6-4 victory that took just 79 minutes.
It was a remarkable day for two players who have grown close despite being at far different stages of their careers.
Muchova and Noskova have been friends for several years, bonding off the court and playing doubles together at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Karolina is such a great fighter, such an incredible player, but mainly she is such a great person,” Niskova said. “I’m glad I can play my first (Grand Slam) final against her.”
Muchova made her WTA main draw debut nine years ago and has been on the cusp of making her breakthrough at the Grand Slams several times.
The 29-year-old was beaten in three sets by Iga Swiatek in her only previous major final at the 2023 French Open.
She also lost in the Australian Open semifinals in 2021 and the last four at the US Open in 2023 and 2024.
Muchova, who had lost in the first round on her previous four appearances at Wimbledon, is at last unimpeded after suffering a multitude of injuries in recent years.
In 2022, doctors told Muchova that it would be a good idea for her to quit tennis altogether, while in 2023 and 2024 right wrist surgery sidelined her for 10 months.
Muchova takes “pills, sprays, eyedrops” to manage a grass allergy, but she is no longer adverse to playing on the lawns of the All England Club.
“It’s a very special moment. It’s a great achievement,” Muchova said.
“This is one of the biggest tournaments that we have with all the history, so many legends were playing here, as well to just get to play on the Centre Court, it was so nice.”
In contrast to Muchova’s litany of near-misses, Noskova is enjoying a meteoric rise.
The 21-year-old only made her Wimbledon debut in 2022 and now she is on the brink of a maiden Grand Slam title.
The youngest Wimbledon semifinalist since Jelena Ostapenko in 2018, Noskova may not be a star just yet, but she has won more matches on grass than any other player on the WTA Tour in the past two years.
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