Marta Kostyuk extended her perfect clay-court record to 9-0 this season with a commanding 7-6(1), 6-0 victory over 13th seed Linda Noskova in the Madrid Open quarterfinals on Wednesday night.
The opening set was a tense battle. Noskova saved an extraordinary fourteen break points, more than any player has faced in an opening set of a WTA 1000 match this season. Kostyuk remained composed, relentlessly targeting Noskova's second serve. When it mattered most, she dominated the tiebreak 7-1 with clinical precision.
The second set was a masterclass. Kostyuk allowed just eight points as she swept through 6-0, wrapping up the match in one hour and twenty-seven minutes. She finished with twenty-four winners against nineteen unforced errors and converted 82 percent of points on her opponent's second serve — the highest rate in any WTA 1000 match this season.
Kostyuk remains the only player in either singles draw to reach the semifinals without dropping a set. This marks her third semifinal of 2026, matching her career-best tally from 2021 and 2024. Since her title in Rouen, she has been delivering top-level performances with remarkable consistency.
"Conditions were incredibly difficult for both of us. It was very windy, very cold," Kostyuk acknowledged after the match, highlighting the mental fortitude required to dominate in such circumstances.
She will face lucky loser Anastasia Potapova in the semifinals. Their head-to-head stands at 2-2, though Kostyuk has won their last two meetings in straight sets.
