Czech Republic players have a fine history of prospering in grass-court tennis, particularly at Wimbledon, and the Racing Post's Adrian Humphries says two stars from that country look set to produce an enthralling singles final in the race to be crowned queen of the grass courts on Saturday.
Compatriots Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova fully deserve their places in the third Grand Slam singles final of the season.
With both women of similar stature and power, it is a clash of experience versus inexperience when the 29-year-old Muchova, who has reached the semi-finals at least in all four Grand Slam singles tournaments, takes on an opponent who is just 21.
Karolina Muchova v Linda Noskova Tips Summary
Best Bet - Karolina Muchova to win @ 5/6
Alternative Bet - Karolina Muchova to win 2-1 @ 3/1
Bet Builder - Muchova to win, Three-set match & Noskova to serve more double faults @ 4/1
Karolina Muchova v Linda Noskova Prediction
Best Bet: Karolina Muchova to win @ 5/6
The oddsmakers can barely split Muchova and Noskova and make the former a slight favourite to capture her first Grand Slam singles title in London.
Noskova is a cool customer on the grass courts, which she has taken well to, and the markets suggest the younger player may have the numbers to avenge her 6-7 6-4 6-2 loss to Muchova on a hard court in last year’s US Open.
However, while there has been a lot to like about the way that Noskova has seen off opponents such as Sorana Cirstea, last year’s Australian Open heroine Madison Keys, grass-court specialist Elise Mertens and Marta Kostyuk in her latest singles outings at Wimbledon, Muchova’s recent dispatching of multiple Grand Slam champions Barbora Krejcikova, Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff reads even better formwise.
Muchova is overdue when it comes to joining the ranks of major champions. In a career blighted by debilitating injuries, she has still produced a CV which highlights her consistency and versatility at the top level.
Noskova, by comparison, is still young and her best years lie ahead. But even if she comes up second best this weekend, she looks like a surefire future Wimbledon champion.
She has a solid all-round game, but where she had the chance to wait for Kostyuk to make errors in their semi-final clash, it may be a different story in the final because it could be a case of which player imposes herself better in the match.
Muchova is likely to go on the front foot and attack and Noskova may well need to counter that by trying to do the same herself. And that may just throw the less-seasoned performer out of her comfort zone.
Alternative Bet: Karolina Muchova to win 2-1 @ 3/1
With Muchova fancied to prevail, it is difficult to predict whether that might be in two or three sets.
Two is possible, but the betting suggests Noskova is likely to win at least a set so punters may do well to acknowledge that and take a chance on Muchova winning via a decider.
Karolina Muchova v Linda Noskova Bet Builder Tip
Karolina Muchova to win
Three-set match
Linda Noskova to serve more double faults
Pays 4/1
With Muchova tipped to win, Bet Builder punters will have to modify their second selection and back a three-set encounter instead of supporting the elder woman to win by a 2-1 scoreline.
Complete your treble by backing Noskova to serve more double faults. When the pair met in New York last year, Noskova served 15 doubles compared to Muchova’s two.
Things could be a lot closer in their second encounter given Noskova’s comfort on grass. But should the younger player find the going tougher in the expectation that she may have to make at least some of the running, then it is quite feasible that her double-fault tally could rise again.
Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.
Key Match Stats
In their only previous meeting, Karolina Muchova beat Linda Noskova 6-7 6-4 6-2 in the third round of last year’s US Open on a New York City hardcourt
Muchova has won the first set in all six of her singles matches at Wimbledon this year; Noskova has won the first set in five of her six singles outings in SW19
Muchova has beaten multiple Grand Slam champions - Barbora Krejcikova, Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff - in her last three singles matches at Wimbledon this year
Muchova, 29, has won only three WTA Tour titles in her career to date while Noskova, 21, already has two main-tour titles to her name.
Muchova and Noskova have both dropped two sets on their routes to the Wimbledon final
Read more tennis betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
