'I'm taking the big one': Linda Noskova explains how she dug deep to take Wimbledon crown

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/noskova-linda/zHMiAkw6/"]Linda Noskova[/a] proved she is made of tougher stuff, though, as she banished the mental demons and recovered her equilibrium to beat fellow Czech and friend [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/muchova-karolina/Or4Qa1ye/"]Karolina Muchova[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/muchova-k-Or4Qa1ye/noskova-l-zHMiAkw6/?mid=pGyvP4BC"]6-2, 5-7, 6-3[/a] in the Wimbledon showpiece.[/p][p]When the ninth seed led 5-2 in the second set, it seemed only a matter of minutes before she would be ‌lifting the Venus Rosewater Dish aloft on a sunlit Centre Court and join an illustrious list of fellow ‌Czechs to win the title.[/p][p]Instead, she saw three match points come and go as Muchova served at 2-5, served a double-fault ‌on another one at 5-3 as the nerves took hold of her right arm and then watched as ‌yet another one went begging in the ninth game.[/p][embed guid="7ebecbba-7ace-4ee9-bd48-c8f40ae2a5b5" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyAz0wUzWgE" social-type="youtube" /][p]By the time Muchova had reeled off five consecutive games to send the final into a deciding set that had never looked likely, Noskova looked shell-shocked, walking towards her chair covering her ears to block out the roars of ‌the crowd.[/p][p]As she departed for a comfort break, her title hopes looked ⁠shot, but something shiny caught her eye on the route ‌to the bathroom and it was enough to snap her back into life.[/p][p]"[b]I was just telling myself that the match is ​starting over. I was in the bathroom. I just splashed some cold water on me, started over again[/b]," she told reporters.[/p][p]"[b]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[/b].[/p][p]"[b]I was looking at the big one. I ⁠was like, I'm taking this one no ​matter what. I'm going to leave my soul on court[/b]."[/p][embed guid="0d9d5281-4dbe-4ee7-9bb0-49f5cdeccb48" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfE9M6__724" social-type="youtube" /][p]When she returned, she somehow held serve in the first game of the third set, and a switch was flicked. The timing returned on her groundstrokes, the feet began to move and when she reached match points at 5-3, more than an hour after her first one, this time she would not ‌be denied.[/p][p]"[b]Let's say I'm brave enough to say that the third set would not have been the same if maybe I would have lost the first game[/b]," Noskova, the third Czech to win the women's title in four years and the youngest women's champion since compatriot [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kvitova-petra/0vypNf1t/"]Petra Kvitova[/a] won the first of her two titles in 2011, said.[/p][p]"[b]I lost five games in a row in the second one, so it was very, very important to start off great[/b]."[/p][p]Noskova, who wears a nose ring, clearly has an old head on young shoulders with a world view way beyond the confines of a tennis court. So perhaps it's not surprising that she handled a tough moment in Saturday's final with such aplomb.[/p][p]She spoke emotionally of her mother Ivana who died two years ago from cancer and throughout her career ‌has impressed observers with her level-headed approach to life.[/p][p]Last year she spent part of her off-season in Zanzibar, volunteering for ​a charity by working at a school.[/p][p]"When I came back, I was definitely more appreciative of everything ‌that I have," she said earlier this week.[/p][embed guid="8086d744-4018-4044-b228-7c4b2dbc7e4f" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQcj8crPHTs" social-type="youtube" /][p]Noskova grew up in a village in a Czech forest and has also expressed her concern for environmental issues and already has a career plan mapped out after she is done with tennis.[/p][p]"I'm very much like a nature lover, I want to do some volunteering with nature in the next months or years. I have always been very active during whatever crisis," she said after beating [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kostyuk-marta/8CZqQdSa/"]⁠Marta Kostyuk[/a] in the semi-finals on Thursday.[/p][p]For now though, she ⁠just wants to let her achievement sink in. "[b]It ‌was all worth it, so I will definitely never forget this week, these two weeks[/b]," she said.[/p][infobox id="e4d8200d-597f-48d7-83c2-d394f1217426" /]