Linda Noskova avoided the fate of her compatriot Jana Novotna, who famously wept on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent, as she survived a thrilling comeback.
But the five straight games that Noskova lost in set two of this memorable final did not sink her challenge in the way that a similar five-game run had for Novotna against Steffi Graf in 1993.
Instead, Noskova showed enormous strength of character to regroup from wasting five match points in that second set, and came through in the decider instead. The result – a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory for Noskova – came up in two hours and 27 minutes and did much to erase the memory of last year’s 6-0, 6-0 blowout in this equivalent match.
I haven’t yet mentioned Noskova’s opponent, another Czech star in Karolina Muchova. Which is remiss of me, because Muchova contributed enormously to the spectacle followed by a stellar assembly in the Royal Box, actresses Lily Collins, Hannah Waddingham and Jodie Foster among them.
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