“Today was really hectic, it all got to me,” says Noskova after singles final loss
7th August 2023
It was a second final loss for Linda Noskova on the WTA tour following the 18-year-old Czech player’s 4-6 1-6 loss to Japan’s Nao Hibino in the singles final of the 2023 Livesport Prague Open. “I cried a bit – losing a final is always so tough,” she admitted.
You
started the final by winning three games but struggled in the remainder of the
match. What happened? “I think it
all just got to me. The weather was unpleasant – it was raining a lot, the wind
was blowing and I didn’t know yesterday who I was going to face in the final. I
started well but then I stopped. My opponent started playing tough balls and I
kept going into them despite the wind. I had real trouble hitting the spots I
wanted to.”
Hibino
had to finish playing part of her postponed semi-final game before facing you
in the final today. Do you think that could have helped her? “Well, she
definitely came into the game warmed up since she played only 15 minutes before
the start of our game, so you could say she had more prep than I did, but I
started better so the result was more to do with my game.”
Do you
think the game was affected by the strong wind? “I
struggled with the wind throughout the entire match, my opponent clearly dealt
with that better. I made a lot of mistakes and missed out on lots of chances,
like in the first set when it was 3-2. If I would have won a few more balls it
could have really changed the outcome of the match.”
Will you
be bolting for the tournament in Montreal, or will you skip the Canadian Open? “We already
decided yesterday to skip it. It’s really hard to turn up and just switch on,
you need time to settle in. It’s not worth making the journey when I know I
don’t have enough time. My next tournament will be in Cincinnati.”
Do you
have any specific goals for the Western & Southern Open and the US Open? “Everyone
arrives ready to do their absolute best – I’m no different. But apart from
being confident, I also respect my opponents and the tournament; you can’t turn
up acting like you’re the winner already. It can be hard to combine all these
feelings.”
And what
about your goals for the rest of the season? “I would
like to stabilise my ranking and not keep fluctuating up and down. My aim is to
be in the Top 50, but I’m not too focused on that, it’s not my main goal. The
main thing I want is to perfect and improve my game – the results will then
follow.”
Photo:
Livesport Prague Open / Pavel Lebeda (sport-pics.cz)
