Wimbledon star makes brutal gesture to own box and gets outed by BBC | Tennis | Sport

Elise Mertens put her finger to her lips and appeared to shush her coach minutes before losing her Wimbledon quarter-final to Linda Noskova 6-3, 7-5. The reigning doubles champion made the unorthodox move immediately after her opponent’s hold at 5-5 in the second set, having returned a serve long.

Emotions seemed to be getting the better of the Belgian, as she raised her left index finger to her lips within seconds of losing the point and the game. The world No. 27 held it there as she walked back along the baseline after being unable to break her opponent’s serve in the match’s tenth game.

Annabel Croft spotted the gesture – which fellow commentator Abigail Johnson described as “very pointed” – and said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Mertens just put her finger up to her lips and several times patted it as if to say ‘shush, stop talking to me’, and whoever it is up there, her coach, is on his own, and he’s obviously right down the far end, but she immediately looked across at them as if to say ‘shush’.”

Mertens, 30, and Noskova, 21, were both playing in the Wimbledon singles quarter-finals for the first time, with the former having previously lost in the fourth round three times, including 12 months ago to Aryna Sabalenka. However, youth prevailed over experience, with Noskova becoming the youngest Wimbledon semi-finalist for eight years, since Jelena Ostapenko in 2018.

Marta Kostyuk is who Noskova will play in the final four, after the Ukrainian beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2. Coco Gauff faces Karolina Muchova in the other semi-final.

Noskova said after her victory: “The feelings are incredible. like never before. This is what I am playing tennis for; it’s truly a special feeling.

“I was nervous before the match, I’m not gonna lie. I was putting pressure on myself, and that’s when I play my best. When I’m nervous, it shows I care.”

She also acknowledged “it will be a tough one” against Kostyuk. “None of these matches are easy, and Marta is an incredible player. It’s going to be a battle.”

The Ukrainian notably paid tribute to her coach, in stark contrast to Mertens. Kostyuk said: “Thank God my coach made me walk here yesterday, I was flabbergasted and needed a day to recover. I was a spectator here (on Centre Court) nine years ago watching Roger (Federer, who was watching from the Royal Box), so to make the walk of honour on Centre Court, I tried to soak it all in.”