Sorana Cîrstea was pushed into a third set by Linda Noskova at Wimbledon on 4 July 2026, after taking the opening set 6-2 and then watching Noskova level the match. Cîrstea, 36 and ranked 18 WTA, was still alive at 6-6 in the decider after saving two match points.
Cîrstea and Noskova at Wimbledon
The match started at 17:28 Romania time and was the third-round meeting at Wimbledon, the year’s third Grand Slam. That put Cîrstea, the higher-ranked player at 18 WTA, against Noskova, 21 years old and ranked 12 WTA, in a match that had already swung twice before the third set reached its sharpest point.
Cîrstea needed just 30 minutes to take the first set 6-2. She used that start to put immediate pressure on the match, but Noskova answered by taking the second set 6-3 and forcing a decider.
Linda Noskova in Wimbledon
By the time the third set reached 6-6, the match had become a straight test of nerve. Cîrstea saved two match points there, turning a brief opening for Noskova into another reset in a match that had already changed direction twice.
The live report was carried on GSP and Eurosport 1, and one earlier Wimbledon result in the same event — Sorana Cîrstea Beats Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 6-4 at Wimbledon — shows how sharp her route into this round had been. What follows from 6-6 is the only question that still matters: whether Cîrstea could convert that escape into a win over Noskova.
