As one of her worst nightmares on a tennis court appeared to be unfolding before her disbelieving eyes, Linda Noskova walked solemnly to her chair with both index fingers plugged into her ears. She was attempting to block out the roars of a booming Centre Court crowd, which had erupted in jubilation at her failure to convert no fewer than five championship points. But the 21-year-old knew deep down that what she truly needed to block out were her own fatalistic thoughts.
Noskova’s hopes of capturing her first Wimbledon title were in freefall by that point. She had lost five consecutive games, her easy 6-2, 5-2 lead crumbling to dust as she found herself in an unwanted final set. Having betrayed all of her tension and fears to her bloodthirsty compatriot, victory seemed much further away than the scoreline suggested.
