London, July 11 (IANS) Ninth seed Linda Noskova clinched her maiden Wimbledon women’s singles title after battling past fellow Czech Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in an entertaining all-Czech final on Centre Court on Saturday.

Noskova produced a composed display in the championship match, recovering strongly after dropping the second set to seal victory in three sets and capture the biggest title of her career.

The 21-year-old relied on her powerful serve throughout the contest, firing 10 aces compared to Muchova’s six. She also enjoyed a slight edge in first-serve percentage (75% to 71%) and won 74% of points behind her first serve, while converting four of her 13 break-point opportunities.

Muchova, seeded 10th, fought back impressively after losing the opening set, taking the second 7-5 to force a decider. However, Noskova regained control in the final set with aggressive baseline play and held her nerve in the key moments to close out the match.

Noskova finished with 109 points compared to Muchova’s 92 and won 17 games overall, underlining her dominance over the course of the two-hour contest.

The victory marks Noskova’s first Wimbledon crown and a breakthrough Grand Slam triumph, while Muchova was left to settle for a runner-up finish despite another spirited performance on the sport’s biggest stage.

At 21 years old, Noskova became 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 leaves SW19 with the Venus Rosewater Dish in hand after a memorable fortnight and is projected to rise to a career-high No. 7 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz rankings on Monday.

For a little over an hour in her debut Grand Slam final, Noskova appeared to be cruising towards the Wimbledon title. But leading by a set and 5-2, with things totally in her favour, Noskova lost the way, and Muchova fought back to win the second set 7-5.

In the end, Noskova needed six championship points and victory in the third set to claim her first Grand Slam title.

–IANS

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