Karolina Muchova reached her second Grand Slam singles final and first at Wimbledon on Thursday, saving a match point at No. 1. 7 seed Coco Gauff 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(10) in an exciting two-hour semifinal as well 35 minutes.
Playing on Center Court for the first time, the 29The age-old Czech controlled most of the opening period with his all-court game before Gauff broke back to level the match. The splits changed several times before Muchova held her own, winning the last two points after saving a match point to book a place in Saturday’s championship match.
Muchova finished 31 Gauff winners 32 but made a few unforced errors (32 to 35). He converted two of six break points, while Gauff converted two 13. And Muchova won 69 percentage of his first points as well 58 percentage of his second points, while Gauff is especially successful at the net, winning 32 of 45 total score (71 percentage).
The Czech admitted afterwards that he needed a moment to process the victory.
Photo: Proshots
“It was an unbelievable fight. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment.”
Muchova acknowledged the tension at the time of cutting the cords after finding a time violation.
“I forgot about it. I forgot about the time violation. Yes, I think I was at the limit. I didn’t see it at the time, honestly. I didn’t look at the clock. I was just trying to take more time. Maybe I didn’t do much for myself, to be honest, yes.”
When Muchova was asked how he remained determined in his attacking style despite changing the intensity, he said:
“No, honestly during that tiebreak period, it was kind of like a roller coaster and emotionally for me. One point I felt good, I hit a good winner, then I made a terrible mistake.
“In my head it felt like I had to keep hitting. I was telling myself that if I’m going to lose this, I want to lose myself. My terms go forward, I play aggressively, I go to the net.
“Or Coco, she’s an amazing athlete and always gives you that one point back, I’d say, so even though I knew when I hit the volley that she’s going to be there and hit a few odd passing shots in every game, but that’s my kind of game. I just wanted to stick with it.”
On reaching another grand final, Muchova said:
“It’s a very special time. It is a great achievement. This is one of the biggest tournaments we have and all, and, I’ll repeat myself, history, so many legends have played here, and to get to play on Center Court, it was great.
“Yes, I’m incredibly happy and happy that it happened and that I have a chance to play in one of the finals.”
For Gauff, the loss ended a surprising run in his deep Wimbledon display. The American fought hard after dropping the opening set and came within one point of victory before Muchova escaped.
Reflecting on the decisive moments, Gauff said:
“I mean, there’s one thing that should be, like, why are you playing dropshot, but then I think about how many points I’ve won in dropshot.
“Yeah, people who don’t watch tennis will be like, Why did you do that? At the end of the day, that’s what I chose. Was it right then? Maybe not. But then again, if I succeed, everyone will say that it was a clutch of a shot.
“I think that’s just tennis. You lose some points on the margins. In fact, coming back seemed like a tricky place for me. The bounce caught me off guard. I just got a little nervous. I think it takes moments like this to learn from it, to have a clear, concise plan of what I want to do.
“At the end of the day, I left everything there. My only regret – or no regrets. I think those are the obvious points that I want to make better decisions about. But that’s how you learn and become a better player.”
Despite the disappointment, Gauff was encouraged by his progress on grass.
“Yes, I think I am moving in the right direction with the service, by being aggressive. There are points that I regret maybe not doing more than some of those break points. It will take time to put myself in these positions so I can break habits and build new ones.
“Hate me or love me, you can’t deny the progress this tournament has made. I don’t know, there’s a lot of good. It makes me excited for the future, for sure.”
Asked how long the loss will last for him, Gauff replied:
“I mean, I’ll think about it tonight. Yes, I don’t know. I don’t know if I’ve ever lost a game after having a match point. If I did, I can’t remember the last time. I don’t know how long it will take me.
“I don’t think that long, honestly. I think, yes, just after I had a lot of emotions after the game. But now I have one decision left, maybe I’m sitting in this press conference with a different attitude.”
