Linda Noskova battles back against Karolina Muchova to win Wimbledon title

Linda Noskova put a dramatic second-set collapse behind her to win her first grand slam title in a wild Wimbledon final.

The winner of the all-Czech clash between Noskova and Karolina Muchova was guaranteed to be the third woman from the central European country to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish in the last four years.

But it was another former Czech champion, the late Jana Novotna, that came to mind when Noskova blew a 5-2 lead in the second set and five match points to send the contest to a decider.

Novotna’s tears on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent after she squandered an apparently decisive advantage against Steffi Graf in the 1993 final remains one of Wimbledon’s most famous moments.

Novotna had to wait until 1998 for her cathartic winning moment but 21-year-old Noskova, playing in her first grand slam final, impressively put the disappointment behind her to claim a 6-2 5-7 6-3 victory.

She is the youngest women’s champion since another Czech, Petra Kvitova, who was watching from the Royal Box, in 2011 and follows in the footsteps of 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova and 2024 winner Barbora Krejcikova.

For just over an hour, this appeared to be one of Wimbledon’s most straightforward finals, with Noskova handling her maiden major showpiece with aplomb and dominating her more experienced compatriot, who lost to Iga Swiatek in the French Open final in 2023.

Leading 6-2 5-2, Noskova was on the brink, and Muchova had to scramble with everything she had to force the ninth seed to try to serve it out, saving three match points as the crowd willed a contest to break out.

Little did they know what was about to unfold. Noskova moved 30-0 ahead in the next game and to within two points of victory, then a fourth chance