In her first appearance under the blinding lights of Rod Laver Arena, in the biggest moment of her flourishing career, Linda Nosková stepped up to the occasion. She outclassed Iga Świątek, the world No 1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open, her deepest run in any grand slam.
“I knew it’s going to be an amazing match,” she said. “I don’t really think it would end up like this but I’m just glad to make it through another round.”
At 19, Nosková is the highest ranked player of the rising wave of Czech youngsters and one of the best teenagers in the world. Having crept as high as world No 40 last year and now ranked 50, it was only a matter of time before she delivered a big win.
While Świątek was the tournament favourite, her extremely difficult path through the draw had underlined her vulnerabilities. Two days earlier, Danielle Collins led Świątek by 4-1 and a double break before the Pole reeled off five games in a row to survive. While Świątek performed exceptionally to pull herself back from the brink of defeat, her struggles evidently shattered any illusions she was untouchable in Melbourne.
Nosková stepped on to the court fully aware she had more than enough power and weight of shot to frustrate Świątek, who tends to be most vulnerable to bigger hitters who can take time away from her and force her behind the baseline.
A smooth, powerful ball-striker with a spectacular backhand, Nosková constantly looked to work herself inside the baseline and dominate the exchanges. After narrowly losing a tight, competitive opening set, she settled into the match and began to swing freely as she took control.
She slammed down 35 winners and served brilliantly, no more so than when 0-30 down in the final game. Nosková gritted her teeth and roared back to seal an incredible victory with a serve that was unreturnable. She then flopped down in her seat and covered her face with a towel, overwhelmed by what she had achieved.
In her short career, she had pulled off three wins over top-10 player before this triumph. At grand slams, though, while she had pushed prominent players and shown that she was close, Nosková still awaited her first top-50 win and had never reached the third round of a grand slam. Now she has beaten the best in the world and positioned herself to battle for even more.
“I know my game,” she said. “I know that I have improved a lot in the last year and a half. I just believed my game tonight. I really wanted this win. I took it very seriously.”
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In the aftermath of a frustrating defeat, Świątek remained level-headed as she explained her emotions. She continually stressed that she needs to properly analyse her performance before passing judgment on her level but will leave Australia fully aware there will be many opportunities to come this year.
“I lost but I’m going to have more tournaments. I remember just last year getting back to work. I could reset and just focus on the next tournaments. So I’m going to do the same this year.”
