Nosková Lets Slip a Win Over Sabalenka at US Open: "It Hurts, I'll Get Drunk and Forget"

Czech tennis player Linda Nosková fell to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open quarterfinals after a dramatic two-hour, 22-minute battle. Nosková led 4:2 in the deciding set but couldn't hold on, ultimately losing the final super tiebreak 7:10.

"It hurts. It's going to hurt for a while longer. In a way, it was a missed opportunity. I believe I could have gone further, even in the next round," the 21-year-old Czech admitted after the match. She said the loss stung especially because of how close she came to winning: "In the end, nobody's really going to care what the score was."

Aces and heartbreaking decisions

Not even 18 aces and a higher points-won tally — 46 to Sabalenka's 42 — could save Nosková against the four-time Grand Slam champion. The Czech admitted she could have played certain key moments differently: "When you're up a break in the third set, it's not easy to handle that kind of situation. I also had a slight edge at the start of the super tiebreak, so that's really disappointing. In the decisive moments, I could have made different choices. But Aryna was also playing her best tennis at those moments, and she didn't make it easy for me at all."

The match ended with a Sabalenka ace — the Belarusian claimed her 19th straight win at the US Open and reached the semifinals in New York for the sixth year running. "That was the only time in the whole match she hit an ace on her second serve. I really didn't expect her to serve through me there, because she hadn't done that all match. Smart play," said Nosková, who competed at the tournament as the sixth seed.

The player, coached by Tomáš Krupa, has now lost 11 straight matches at Grand Slam tournaments, and on her third attempt still couldn't get past Sabalenka. "Because it was so close, it hurts more than if I'd lost 2:6, 2:6. I can take a lot of both positive and negative from this. We'll see how I deal with it," she reflected.

Questions for the organizers

At the press conference, Nosková also spoke about the organizers' decision to close the stadium roof at 4:5 in the third set. "I didn't really understand what was happening. I only noticed it after a point, but I heard a sound like something was going on up above. Nobody told us about it, which was the strangest part. And more importantly, you just don't do that at that point in the score," the player said.

Still, she was understanding of the organizers' attempt to shield the players from direct sunlight, though she noted the change came at a crucial moment in the match: "Everything was fine as it was. Maybe it was a bit tougher at the very start than during the match, but I don't know. Honestly, it didn't make a huge difference to me whether we played in the shade or not."

Nosková will spend a few more days in New York and will try to put today's defeat behind her as quickly as possible. "I'll definitely do something — I'll stay here for about three more days. I'll probably get drunk and forget about it. Luckily, I'm old enough now to allow myself that," she joked with a smile, before quickly adding: "Although no, I'm not saying I'll be out partying, but I'll stay. It's my favorite city."

In two weeks, Nosková is expected to be one of the key players for the national team at the Billy Jean King Cup finals, taking place September 22-27 in Shenzhen, China. Also named to the squad are Karolína Muchová, Marie Bouzková and Kateřina Siniaková. "It's huge motivation to perform well there. As a team, we'll do everything we can to get the job done. I can't wait already," the player added.

Source: sport.cz