The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham news and links for Monday, July 13

Good morning everyone – We have off days for both the World Cup and the Tour de France today, and I don’t think anyone is that interested in the tennis tournaments in Gstad, Umag, or Bastad . The great news is this gives us lots of time to talk about Wimbledon.

This time we’re going to be focusing on just the women’s final, where Linda Noskova defeated her Czech countrywoman Karolina Muchova 6-2 5-7 6-3. Noskova raced out ahead to a 6-2 5-2 lead before the nerves of her first Grand Slame title got to her, and Muchova saved several championship points to force a third set.

But then Noskova settled early on and, like the first set, overpowered the crafty Muchova.

For those of you who might’ve not watched the game, there are a couple things between the second and third sets worth noting:

1. Noskova plugged her ears after the end of the second set to block out the noise
2. She stared down the Venus Rosewater Dish before the third set began

It’s a pretty bold move to do something like that, but Noskova showed incredible poise for almost the entirety of the match. Aside from those five games at the end of the second, it was clear that his was her match to lose.

Muchova is a terrific player who has modeled her game after Roger Federer. Perhaps that’s why she’s so beloved by tennis fans with that lovely chip-backhand, the way she runs around to hit her forehand (very Federer-esque) and her crisp volleys.

Yet she made a few mistakes in her return game. She tried to force Noskova to serve it to her backhand, but the 21-year-old kept pushing Muchova to the backhand side, which was especially deadly on the advantage side of the court.

I think what struck me the most, though, was the on-court ceremony after the match. I wanted both players to win (I would’ve preferred Muchova – see above). But they’re both very good for women’s tennis. And there are times we learn a little bit more about the champions of the sport, like how we learned about Noskova on Saturday:

Here’s another fun fact for you all: For those of you who don’t know the tennis calendar, the offseason is very short (mayne no more than a few weeks). Noskova spent some of her time during the offseason to volunteer in Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania.

There she volunteered at a school of 300 pupils, living in a volunteer house with shared rooms. Here’s a quick quote from the WTA site from December: “This trip opened my eyes in ways I didn’t expect, and it reminded me how fortunate we are — an experience I believe everyone should have at least once in their life.”

Saturday’s win is a huge jump for Noskova, whose best result at a Grand Slam before this was the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open. She’s actually had some pretty disappointing major tournaments before Wimbledon, and it’d be great if this one unlocked something in her game.

She moves up to Number 6 in the world.

Fitzie’s track of the day:Solitude, by Billie Holiday

And now for your links:

BBC: “England have another level we can reach – Kane”

The Telegraph: “Fifa looking at 64-team World Cup, says Gianni Infantino”

Vogue: “At 21, Linda Nosková Becomes the Youngest Wimbledon Champion in 15 Years”