Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
The prospect of an all-Czech women’s final at sun-baked Wimbledon is on the cards after their in-form rising star Linda Noskova powered into the last-four where she’ll join her compatriot Karolina Muchova.
Noskova, the 21-year-old on a scintillating roll of 10 victories in 11 matches on grass courts this season, finally subdued the second-set resistance of Belgian stalwart Elise Mertens 6-3 7-5 on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), to become the youngest Wimbledon women’s semi-finalist since Jelena Ostapenko in 2018.
It meant she also joined Muchova in Thursday’s (Friday AEST) semis, after her more experienced countrywoman had stunned Naomi Osaka in her quarter-final 24 hours earlier.
Noskova will meet Marta Kostyuk in her semi after the Ukrainian heroine, currently enjoying the most stellar run of any woman player on the WTA circuit, marked her Centre Court debut with a sweeping 6-3 6-2 win over Italy’s former finalist Jasmine Paolini.
With Coco Gauff, the highest seed remaining at No.7, up against 10th seed Muchova in the other semi, there will definitely be a new first-time Wimbledon women’s winner for the 10th year running.
In the baking lunchtime heat on Court One, Noskova was just too hot for 25th seed Mertens, six times a Grand Slam doubles champion who hadn’t been in a major singles quarter-final for six years.
Having to work hard just to hold serve while under constant attack from the Czech’s booming groundstrokes, Mertens eventually cracked in the eighth game of the first set and the 11th of the second as Noskova celebrated her first grand slam semi-final.
Meanwhile on Centre Court, with Queen Camilla watching from the Royal Box, the crowd tried to get behind the popular Italian underdog but Kostyuk proved ruthless, racing to victory in only 69 minutes for her 21st win in her last 22 matches.
It was the second successive major semi-final for the 24-year-old, whose only defeat since mid-April came to Mirra Andreeva in the last-four in Paris. She’s now the second Ukrainian to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals after Elina Svitolina.
She raised her hands and dropped to her knees in joy after Paolini scuffed a shot on her second match point, before later offering up her trademark celebratory on-court pirouette.
Afterwards Kostyuk revealed how she’d enjoyed a practice walk around Centre Court on Tuesday, just to try to settle her nerves before her big match. “Thank God my coach made me walk here. I was flabbergasted by this entrance and everything inside,” she said.
“I was like, ‘wow, I need one day to recover from what I saw’. I was on this court as a spectator once, nine years ago, watching Roger [Federer]. It was super special. To be back here as a player, I made a walk of honour on the Centre Court and took a moment, soaked it all in, and now I’m here after a win.
“First time playing on this unbelievable court — and obviously a dream come true.”
