Linda Noskova, who beat Marta Kostyuk in the Wimbledon semifinals en route to her first Grand Slam title in July, is hoping to follow a similar script at the US Open after converting her sixth match point to defeat the No. 11 seed 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 in 2 hours, 27 minutes and reach her first quarterfinal in New York.
US Open: Scores | Order of play | Draws
Noskova led 7-5, 5-3 and held two match points while serving at 5-4 in the second set, but Kostyuk saved both and swept the last four games to force a decider. Kostyuk kept pressing in the third, erasing a break deficit and saving three more match points before Noskova finally closed the door.
Nearly an hour of the match came after Noskova first held match point.
“I am more than relieved. This match was so tough, emotionally more than physically,” Noskova said in her on-court interview. “We did play for more than two hours, but still the nerves were definitely going since the start. There were a lot of crucial points, and I feel like a huge rock fell off my heart at the end.”
With the win, Noskova improved to 2-1 against Kostyuk at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level, with all three meetings coming this season. She also became the youngest Czech woman to reach a US Open singles quarterfinal since Daja Bedanova in 2001. Among players born in 2004 or later, only Coco Gauff (11) and Mirra Andreeva (4) have reached more Grand Slam quarterfinals than Noskova (3).
Noskova has now won 11 straight Grand Slam matches dating back to Wimbledon and will look to extend that streak when she faces World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — whom she trails 0-2 in the head-to-head — for a spot in the semifinals.
More to come…