NEW YORK (AP) — Linda Noskova's life changed earlier this summer in ways she could not possibly imagine.
The 21-year-old from the Czech Republic won Wimbledon, the youngest champion there in a decade and a half, for her first Grand Slam title. She met Czech president Petr Pavel and was celebrated by thousands in her hometown of Vsetín.
“A lot of congratulations from people that weren’t really expected,” she said.
Back at a major for the first time at the U.S.
Open, Noskova understands the gravity of what she has accomplished but insists it has not changed how she approaches tennis, with her eyes on more prizes ahead.
“It has always been very important to focus on each match like nothing ever happened before: no success or no failure,” Noskova said. “Whatever happened happened, and this is a brand-new tournament. I just have to start all over.”
It's not totally starting over. She will always have that Wimbledon run on her resume, and she has improved from 12th to a career-best sixth in the WTA world rankings.
Still, Noskova called not getting ahead of herself the most important thing, which she believes is easy. That means starting with her opening match Monday against 78th-ranked American opponent Katie Volynets on court 11, far from the spotlight.
“I really want to stay the same — not really change many things around me,” Noskova said. “Whenever there is something new or something I’m not used to, I just kind of always want to stick with the things that I know how to do, and whatever is new, I just kind of get used to it.”
Knowing it's about “What have you done for me lately?” Noskova acknowledges the media attention will not last forever. Going all the way at the All-England Club did give her confidence that she can hang with the best women's players on the planet, which helps at a U.S. Open that looks wide open.
“I have learned mainly the fact that it’s possible for me to do it: for me to make it till the very end and just lift (a) Grand Slam trophy,” Noskova said. “I feel like all of us, all players, just dream about that moment and when it actually comes, it’s very hard to realize and to realize all the things that went into it.”
Noskova beat countrywoman Karolina Muchova in the Wimbledon final. She's the youngest to win that tournament since another Czech player, Petra Kvitova in 2011.
But the celebrations of that achievement are over. For the first several minutes of her question-and-answer session upon arriving in New York last week, Noskova did not utter the “W” word.
She smiled and called it unintentional. Attempting to shift her mindset and moving past Wimbledon is very intentional.
“I feel like I have had enough of it, in a good way,” Noskova said. “I mean, it’s something that it’s so big and huge that it’s very tough to actually swallow. But at the same time, we have a new Grand Slam here. I cannot be stuck in my head space at Wimbledon. ... I will just try to redo what I did."
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