Craig Gabriel: tennis commentator on Linda Noskova defeating Karolina Muchova in Wimbledon final

Linda Noskova has become Wimbledon's 9th different women's singles champion in the past nine years, overcoming fellow Czech Karolina Muchova in the three-set final.

Tennis commentator Craig Gabriel joined Piney to recap the action.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Edb the women's singles champion. It's over, Natskiva is the champion.
Linda Noskova has bet in Carolina Mukova in an all
check women's singles final six two, five, seven sixty three.

(00:33):
She becomes the ninth different women's champion in as many years.
Craig Gabriel watched on at Wimbledon and joins us Now, Craig,
what were the main storylines of this women's singles final?

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well, I think really and you got me out of
breast because I'm walking up Wimbledon Park, wrote to the
Tube station and it's a bit of a hill. Well,
you know the thing is this match actually should have
been over in straight sets, and should have been a
quick one because I'm not Scuba was up six, two,

(01:07):
five three, She had five championship points in that second set,
could not convert them. But for credit really to mook
of her for the way she battled at that stage
to force her comeback and go into the third set.
But I think when Moscova saved break points in the

(01:28):
first game of that final set, she said she settled
down a bit, and it really was the fact because
she began to really pick up some steam, went three love, four, one, five,
two before closing it out.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
I guess some players might have unraveled Craig after, as
you say, having the chance, a really good chance to
close it out in straight sets, but then having to
go to a third. What impressed your most about the
way she reset herself in that third set, Well.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
I got to admit I told some colleagues in the
in the commentary box that she's done, she's gone, she's finished,
and I had egg on my face. But what I
thought was absolutely fascinating is that she took she left
the court. I think it was after the second set,
when it was once said all. She said she'd splash
some water on her face and she was coming back

(02:18):
and she saw the trophies in the cabinets, which is
in the and those trophies are in the foyer of
the or England Club, and she said, I don't want
the small one.

Speaker 4 (02:27):
I want the big one.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
And she said, as deep in my soul, I was
not prepared to go for the small one. And that
regrouped and reset things and ended up getting the big one.

Speaker 4 (02:40):
The Venus Rosewater Salva.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Her game seems ideally suited to grass. What parts of
it make her so dangerous on that surface?

Speaker 4 (02:50):
Well, I think she's she's not a bad mover.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
She strikes the ball very cleanly, so I think, you know,
there's a combination of reasons why things have worked out
for her. But you know what this is what's so incredible.
The Czech players are all comfortable on place playing on grass,
and these two women today were the eleventh and twelfth

(03:13):
check women to reach a Wimbledon final in the open era,
you know. And the fact that she's the third one
in the last four years to win the singles at Wimbledon.
You know, the Czechs are just I don't know what
they do. I think the Czech players have got shut
up of constantly being asked what's going on over there

(03:34):
with your players?

Speaker 4 (03:34):
And get so many but they're just very comfortable on
it mask of us.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
What twenty one years old, Craig, I think, how significant
is this?

Speaker 4 (03:45):
You know?

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Do we are we witnessing the arrival of a genuine
Grand Slam?

Speaker 3 (03:49):
You know?

Speaker 2 (03:50):
She could win multiple Grand Slams? Is that what we're seeing?

Speaker 4 (03:52):
The star could? Yeah, I look very possibly.

Speaker 3 (03:56):
Look, I don't think we should expect that to win
every match that she plays from now on. You know,
you've only got freaks of the game that tend to
do that. But this is an impressive result and certainly
she's going to have a lot of confidence, just like
Alexander Zverev has picked up after.

Speaker 4 (04:14):
Winning the French Open.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
So yeah, I think it looks there's certainly a lot
of positives about this for her, and we'll see how
it all pans up. But she's still stunned. She still
can't believe that she is, you know, Linda Noskova Wimbledon singles.

Speaker 2 (04:33):
Champion, wonderful and what about Carolina Mokova, Yeah, you know,
so close. Again. What will she take from this experience.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
At the moment, I don't think she she's taken too
much because she's pretty down and dejected at losing this.
She said it's going to take a few days to
get over it, but then also made the point that
after that she'll realize what she's achieved and the fact
that she's been in a Wimbledon final and worked very
hard over the last two weeks to get to that final.

(05:04):
Birth these women I had to save match points en
route to the final, so it's you know, you got
to you got to take your hat off to their
mental stability. And there was a very emotional finish really
today with the presentation ceremony. You know that Miokoba in
tears because she realized what could have been, and then

(05:26):
the whole place, you know, lost the emotions that became
Chieri when no Oskov said, I have one more person
to thank, my mother or my mum who if it
wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here, and then she
looks to the skies and and blows the kiss to
the sky. So you know that really got a lot
of people playing, and including Martina and Radlova, who's in

(05:49):
the front row at the of the raw box sitting
next to the Princess of Wales.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
Yeah, I saw right, I saw your photo on your
socials of that. What a wonderfully emotional moment. Just to
quick look ahead to the Means final. If we could
Craig yannicksoner Alexander Zverev on paper a terrific final in prospect,
what do you expect?

Speaker 3 (06:07):
Yeah, look, I'm going to go with sinner to repeat,
but goodness as an Alex Sasha really turned it on
since the French Open, because, yeah, his tennis had been
a little bit erratic, but the confidence of getting a
grant of winning a major has been huge for him.

(06:28):
And Sinner was saying the same thing. He says, there's
so much more confidence, and he's he's serving big, is
the way he put it. And with the heat that
we're having over here, the courts are hard, they've been
baked with the sun, and Sinner was saying that whoever
serves biggest is the one that's going to be in
favor and have the advantage.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
All right, looking forward to a brilliant Means final. Craig,
have loved your coverage as always. I'll let you get
back to your walk. You don't sound that thanks a
lot already. I'm already well.

Speaker 4 (07:00):
I've had to stop.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
If I kept walking and I would be out of breath,
I wouldn't be able to get the words like a
dinner in a bag and what's the dinner French fries.

Speaker 4 (07:10):
Always, crist Channing. Craig, thanks for taking the call. Okay,
bye bye bye, Craig.

Speaker 2 (07:14):
I reel at Wimbledon about to enjoy some some dinner.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
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