13/07/2026

SPORTS MONDAY | JULY 13, 2026 28 Noskova wins Czech battle Glimpse of trophy inspired title glory, says the Wimbledon champion L INDA NOSKOVA revealed a glimpse of the Wimbledon trophy during a bathroom break inspired her fightback to beat Karolina Muchova in an extraordinary final on Saturday. Noskova was in danger of blowing her bid for a maiden Grand Slam advantage against Steffi Graf in the 1993 final remains one of Wimbledon’s most famous moments. Noskova’s fellow Czech had to wait until 1998 for her cathartic win ning moment but the ninth seed, playing in her first Grand Slam

Photos from AFPPIC & REUTERSPIC FANZONE

final, staved off three break points at the start of the third set before landing a crucial break. Noskova admitted the pressure-packed situation had over whelmed in the second set as the match points slipped through her grasp across three different games. “My hand kind of froze at certain moments. My feet were not as quick as they had been before,” she said. When her next match point arrived, this time she seized the moment, sealing a life-changing 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory before falling to the turf in joy and disbelief. Noskova is the youngest women’s champion since another Czech, Petra Kvitova won in 2011. Fittingly, two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova was watching from the royal box and she congratu lated Noskova, who idolised her as a child, when they met in the Centre Court lounge after the match. Noskova follows in the footsteps of fellow Czech Wimbledon winners Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Krejcikova in 2023 and 2024 respec tively. Noskova and Muchova are good friends and the pair were emotional in their interviews after receiving their trophies from the Princess of Wales. For Noskova, holding aloft the sil verware validated her moment of clarity less than an hour earlier in the corridors of Centre Court. – AFP “I think my game is good. I’m improving. So I feel good on the courts. Yeah, it’s a dream of mine, it’s a goal of mine to lift that Grand Slam trophy. This is a setback, but as well a motivation.” Muchova said she was deter mined to fight for her survival as she stood a point away from defeat, not once, but five times during the dra matic second set. “This tournament matters to me. I’m like, ‘okay, I don’t want to lose 6-2, 6-2. I’m going to do everything to break her serve and keep mine’,” Muchova added. “I was still believing that I can turn it around. So that was in my head. “It was pretty tough match. I defi nitely felt it physically… The nerves, as well. I really wanted to win today. Maybe it tied my hands a little bit today from the start.” – Reuters

title after squandering five match points to blow a 5-2 lead in a chaotic second set on Centre Court. The 21-year-old hid her head in a towel and wiped away tears of frustration after her fel low Czech and close friend Muchova levelled the final at one-set all.

Noskova trudged sadly towards the locker room in a bid to recom pose herself for the final set. On that walk she noticed the Venus Rosewater Dish gleaming in a trophy cabinet alongside the run ners-up shield. The thought of having to make do with the losers’ consolation prize shook Noskova out of her malaise and she stormed back to take the title in the final set. “I was just telling myself that the match is starting over. I was in the bathroom. I just splashed some cold water on me, started over again,” she said. “But what really helped me, the first step I took off court, the trophies were there. I was like, ‘I’m not going to take the small one, I’m taking the big one. I have been so close. This will probably be the heartbreak of my life.’ “If I’m going to leave my soul on court in the third set, whatever that be. I just kind of started to focus on myself all over again, which was the key point.” Jana Novotna’s tears on the shoul der of the Duchess of Kent after she squandered an apparently decisive KAROLINA MUCHOVA said she will need a few days to overcome her sec ond Grand Slam final defeat after going down to fellow Czech Linda Noskova in the Wimbledon title clash but the 29-year-old vowed to keep fighting for her maiden major title. Muchova saved five match points as she fought back from 5-2 down in the second set to stretch the match into a decider but she could not avoid a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 defeat. It was the second time she suf fered heartbreak on one of tennis’ biggest stages after losing to Iga Swiatek in the 2023 French Open final. “It’ll definitely take me few days (to overcome the loss). But again, I was in the final. It’s still a great achievement. It’s still something I’d take before the tournament,” Muchova told reporters.

A picture montage of fans, including Lionel Messi’s wife, Antonela Rocuzzo (top, left) during Argentina vs Switzerland at the Kansas City Stadium and England vs Norway at the Miami Stadium during yesterday’s World Cup quarterfinals matches.

Muchova vows to keep chasing maiden major