Noskova overcomes nerves to beat Muchova in Wimbledon final

Linda Noskova overcame a second-set collapse which saw her squander five match points before completing a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win over fellow Czech Karolina Muchova in a roller-coaster Wimbledon women's singles final on Saturday.

The 21-year-old dominated the opening set, winning it in 32 minutes and led 5-2 in the second in the first Grand Slam singles final between two women from the Czech Republic in the professional era.

But Muchova made a comeback, saving three match points at 2-5, before denying Noskova again in the next game when a faltering Noskova served a double fault and then repeated it at 4-5 as a previously one-sided contest belatedly burst into life on Centre Court.

Ninth seed Noskova lost five games in a row as Muchova dragged the match into a decider.

Somehow, Noskova banished the demons in her head as she regained control to forge a 5-2 lead in the third set.

Noskova overcame her earlier nerves and regained control to forge a 5-2 lead in the deciding third set.

The 29-year-old Muchova delayed defeat by winning another game as the shadows crept across the court but when Noskova got a second chance to serve for the match, she made no mistake in claiming her first Grand Slam title.

She is the third Czech player in four years to win the Wimbledon women's title after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

"I have been enjoying these two weeks so much, through the sad tears and the happy tears, all the sweat and blood I put into this," an emotional Noskova said on court after blowing a kiss to the sky in honour of her mum who died two years ago.

"It was all worth it, so I will definitely never forget this week, these two weeks."

It was an emotional moment too for Muchova, who for the second time in a Grand Slam final ended up beaten.

"It's really tough to find any words," 10th seed Muchova, who reached the French Open final three years ago but has had to battle with injuries, said. "To my ex-friend ... I'm only kidding.

"This was your first Grand Slam final and the way you handled it and the way you played was really unbelievable."