Na vrcholu světa

The women's singles final at Wimbledon was a classic. Two young Czech players duked it out, and the more youthful one won. Linda Noskova defeated Karolina Muchova in three sets. -Ova over -ova, as it were.

Under a hot late afternoon sun, Noskova came out firing, taking a near-perfect first set 6-2 before a celebrity-studded packed house. She was cruising in the second set, too, but as often happens in these big matches, the pressure of seeing the finish line got to the leader. Noskova failed to convert on five match points, while Muchova suddenly started playing her best and getting results. Muchova won the set, 7-5.  Noskova stepped off the court, actually stared at the trophy for a few moments, and came out composed and hitting again. The third set wasn't close, 6-3.

Thr speeches at the awards ceremony were inspiring, as usual, and quite a few of those present got misty at a couple of points. Then, as is the custom, Noskova showed up at the back balcony and held the trophy high, to the cheers of the crowd below. She was the 10th different woman to have that honor in the last 10 years, but she's only 21 and could wind up there again sometime soon. She's got quite a game.

The prizes are $4.8 million for Noskova, half that for Muchova.

I like both of these athletes, and so I didn't have a rooting interest at the start, but once Noskova dominated the first set, I couldn't bear to see her lose the match. And it looked a little iffy there two thirds of the way through. In the end, I was relieved. I'll root for Muchova next time, though; I owe her one. 

Today, the men's singles final is "chalk," as the gamblers say. First-seeded Jannik Sinner takes on second-seeded Sascha Zverev. Sinner, the defending champ, is heavily favored, but he doesn't like the heat and this tournament has been plenty hot. The match will be worth watching, but unlike today, I suspect no one will be crying at the end.