Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova roar into their first Wimbledon semi-finals

French Open semi-finalist Kostyuk beats Paolini 6-3, 6-2 Czech No 9 seed Noskova defeats Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5 A lot has been made of how open the women’s draw at Wimbledon is this year, even before the defending champion, Iga Swiatek , and the world’s top two, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, all fell in the first week . But sometimes it pays to be aware of the in-form players, whoever they are, and so it was no surprise to see Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova march into the semi-finals. Kostyuk, the Ukrainian 12th seed who reached the semi-finals at the French Open last month, crushed the 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 on Centre Court while the 21-year-old Noskova, seeded ninth, saw off Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 7-5 to make it 10 wins out of 11 on grass this year. Continue reading...