Noskova beats Kostyuk to reach US Open quarter-finals

Linda Noskova reached the US Open quarter-finals after outlasting Marta Kostyuk 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours and 27 minutes. The Wimbledon champion sealed the victory on her sixth match point when Kostyuk missed a backhand return.

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I’m more than relieved

Noskova, the sixth seed, appeared close to a straightforward win when she held two match points while serving at 5-4 in the second set. Kostyuk saved both, then won the next two games with help from a loud Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd to force a decider.

Noskova broke at 3-3 in the third set. Serving for the match at 5-4, she faced three more match points before a powerful serve finally ended the contest. She dropped to her knees after the victory. “I’m more than relieved,” Noskova said. “This match was very tough, more emotionally than physically.”

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This match was very tough, more emotionally than physically

The Czech player also left the court for a bathroom break after the second set, as she had during her Wimbledon final against fellow Czech Karolina Muchova. “There was a lot of noise, but obviously I had to come back and start again. I had to refocus and put it behind me, which wasn’t easy,” she said. “The most important thing is always to recover mentally after opportunities like this, whether at Wimby or here.”

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There was a lot of noise, but obviously I had to come back and start again. I had to refocus and put it behind me, which wasn’t easy

Kostyuk said after the match that she had been playing with a right-wrist injury and planned to undergo an MRI. She also described the crowd’s support after she saved match points. “I had never had the whole stadium cheering for me like that, and the noise was deafening,” Kostyuk said. “It was incredible. I had no choice but to smile.”

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I had never had the whole stadium cheering for me like that, and the noise was deafening. It was incredible. I had no choice but to smile