THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 4, 2026

Linda Noskova

Press Conference

L. NOSKOVA/S. Cirstea

2-6, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Linda, another nice win. Could you sum up the match for us today, please.

LINDA NOSKOVA: Well, it was a hell of a match, obviously. I knew that it was going to be tough, as it always is, with Sorana. Our matches are never easy.

I was expecting a tough battle. Not like this one, obviously. But, yeah, it was just one of those matches that you are really relieved that you got through.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. How were you feeling on those match points? Where was your head at and how did you get back into it?

LINDA NOSKOVA: Well, I just refused to lose the match (smiling). I was telling myself that it's never over, obviously, that the last point always decides.

But I knew that she was not going to give it to me either way, and neither was I. There were tough moments where we both had our chances.

But yeah, I'm glad that the last two points went my way.

Q. It's very unusual that you have played someone five times in half a year. How does that dynamic feed into your emotions approaching the match and then at match point?

LINDA NOSKOVA: Yeah, you always have to go with a clear mind to a brand new match, but when you play someone so many times, it's quite, very tough to, you know, play like none of those matches ever happened.

But at the same time, you want to take some advantages from what you did good and what you did bad in the previous matches. There should be a balance between that, I guess.

Q. On that train of thought, what was your mindset going in? What did you want to carry with you? Was there anything, like, Okay, I'm not thinking anything from what happened before?

LINDA NOSKOVA: Well, with Sorana, you always have to play 100%, obviously. You can never really lose your focus like I kind of did in a few games in the first set, which was the result of losing the first one.

But I'm glad I definitely reset after the first set and started over, because if I would have continued like that, it definitely wouldn't have ended up like this.

Yeah, I'm glad I started over. It was just one of those matches that you have to fight for every point, and no matter what happens, it's tough either way.

Q. Can I ask about playing Madison next? I don't think you have ever faced her.

LINDA NOSKOVA: No.

Q. What do you make of her game, and how do you see you guys matching up?

LINDA NOSKOVA: Well, I would say we have similar game styles. She's a big groundstroker. She wants to play as fast as possible. She has a great serve. She's using that a lot. I feel like it's going to be a big match. Maybe slightly different than today.

But, well, in a different way, it's going to be a brand new match, because yeah, we have never played together, so I don't know what to expect really.

But she's a great player. I admire her game style a lot. It's going to be a tough match either way.

Q. I was interested, after your second round on court, you said that you have never had a goal to reach the top 10. Have you never had ranking goals? How have you measured your focus on tennis otherwise?

LINDA NOSKOVA: I never really had ranking goals, to be honest. It never really mattered to me. But as I was climbing up the rankings, it's obvious that, you know, you see your position or where you are or where you could be or where you could have been.

I feel like all these thoughts are a bit annoying at times, especially when you ask them yourself. That's why I really try not to think about it, try not to count the points and, you know, not even focus on where you are right now, where I am right now.

Q. During your development when you were younger, at what point did you recognize yourself, as you said, as a big groundstroker? At what point did you view yourself as a big hitter compared to other people?

LINDA NOSKOVA: Maybe eight years old, nine. (Laughter.)

I have always been like that. I never really liked to just put the ball back into the game. I have always been kind of aggressive.

When I was a kid, I made tons and tons of mistakes, thanks to my game style. But I feel like this has always been in my blood, and I'm glad I never really changed it as I grew up.