Marta Kostyuk, Linda Noskova reach Wimbledon semis

No. 9 seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic and No. 12 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals with straight-sets victories on Wednesday.

They will square off on Thursday at the All England Club, where No. 7 Coco Gauff will face No. 10 Karolina Muchova -- Noskova's fellow Czech -- in the other grass-court semifinal.

Noskova, Kostyuk and Muchova are all seeking their maiden Grand Slam title, while Gauff is looking for her third after winning the U.S. Open in 2023 and the French Open in 2025. None of the four has played in a Wimbledon final.

In Wednesday's action, Noskova saved the only break point she faced in a 6-3, 7-5 defeat of No. 25 Elise Mertens of Belgium.

Mertens served to take a 5-4 lead in the second set but dropped the last three games. Noskova finished with seven aces and 30 winners, a dozen more than Mertens.

Kostyuk needed only 69 minutes to complete a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 13 Jasmine Paolini of Italy.

Kostyuk has won 21 of her past 22 matches on the WTA Tour. She never faced a break point against Paolini, who lost her serve four times and managed only eight winners.