By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Linda Noskova will need every tool in her arsenal against creative powerhouse Aryna Sabalenka this week, as the Wimbledon champion booked a meeting with the title defender in a delectable U.S. Open quarter-final showdown.
The Czech sixth seed survived a mid-match fightback from 11th seed Marta Kostyuk 7-5 5-7 6-4 on Sunday to set up the clash of big-hitting Grand Slam winners, sure to be among the hot tickets in Flushing Meadows.
“She’s very consistent in whatever she does, if it’s either the serve or she’s going into every return that she can or, you know, just playing so, so solid from the baseline and not being afraid to go on the net as well and using some dropshots or slices, you know, to mix up the rhythm,” said Noskova.
Sabalenka beat her in both of their previous two meetings, most recently the Belarusian’s title run in Indian Wells, and has appeared unstoppable so far in New York, where she has yet to drop a set.
“The last one in Indian Wells, it was a tough one, a close one, but she did well. She won the whole thing, just as she has been winning here for the last two years,” said Noskova. “I know her game very well. We’ll see what happens. I still have a day to recover from today and refocus and, you know, prepare myself for that.
“But it’s going to be some fast tennis, I expect.”
NOSKOVA SURVIVES FOURTH-ROUND TEST
The Czech will need every bit of that recovery time after a gruelling encounter against Kostyuk that saw her finally seal victory on her sixth match point with an unreturnable serve.
“I am more than relieved,” said Noskova, who crumpled to the court as she finally got over the finish line. “I feel like a huge rock fell off my heart at the end.”
The sixth seed used her rock-solid backhand to blunt her opponent’s serve in the opening set and produced a couple of fine forehand winners en route to the decisive break in the 11th game.
Kostyuk’s troubles deepened in the second set as two double faults and an unforced error handed Noskova a break in the seventh game.
The Ukrainian slumped over and buried her face in her hands after sending a shot wide in the eighth, but the fans rallied around her, sparking a revival that saw her save two match points and swat a shot past Noskova to pull level at 5-5.
Kostyuk then broke her opponent to love in the 12th game to force a deciding set, but could not sustain the momentum. Noskova moved 4-3 ahead with a superb backhand winner as a frustrated Kostyuk ran out of steam.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Toby Davis and Stephen Coates)
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