London, July 12 (IANS) Newly crowned Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion Linda Noskova revealed her winning mindset and revealed how a short sight at the trophies in the clubhouse when she headed for a bathroom break inspired her not to settle for a small trophy and to walk away with a Venus Rosewater Dish.
With a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 victory over her Olympic doubles partner, Czech compatriot and friend Karolina Muchova, Noskova prevailed at the All England Club in her first Grand Slam final to win the most prestigious of her three career singles titles.
She took a bathroom break after the second set and spotted the two trophies in the clubhouse. She stared at the small salver for the runner-up and stumbled upon the Venus Rosewater Dish, the exact source of inspiration and motivation Noskova needed. From there, she never let the momentum shift again.
“I was in the bathroom; I just splashed some cold water on me, started over again,” she said. “But what really helped me, like 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.
“I was looking at the big one. I was like, I’m taking this one no matter what. If I’m going to leave my soul on court in the third set, whatever that be. I was just telling myself that the match is starting over.
“I just kind of started to focus on myself all over again, which was the key point. I started over. I would say that maybe the key point was the first game that I held my serve [in the third set]”.
At 21 years old, she’s the youngest Wimbledon champion since her idol, Czech legend Petra Kvitova, who watched Noskova’s triumph from the Royal Box after winning the first of her two Wimbledon titles in 2011. Noskova joins Kvitova as the only Czech players to make their Grand Slam final debut at Wimbledon — and both were victorious.
Noskova is now the fifth Grand Slam singles champion to represent Czechia and the third Czech woman to win Wimbledon in the past four years, further cementing the country’s remarkable success on the sport’s biggest stage. She is now the first since Maria Sharapova in 2004 to win both the lead-up and the major on grass.
–IANS
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