Karolina Muchova saved a match point before defeating Coco Gauff in the Wimbledon semi-finals to reach her first final and keep alive her hopes of a historic all-Czech title clash.
Image: Czech Karolina Muchova celebrates after her victory in the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championships at the expense of American Coco Gauff on Thursday. Photography: Marko Djurica – Reuters
Key points
- Karolina Muchova saved a match point to beat Coco Gauff in a Wimbledon semi-final that lasted 2 hours and 35 minutes.
- After Gauff mustered her strength to force a decider, Muchova withstood a tense tiebreak and produced a series of stunning winners to book her place in the final.
- Muchova’s victory keeps alive the Czech’s hopes of qualifying for her first women’s Grand Slam final, while her compatriot Linda Noskova is also seeking a place in the Wimbledon title fight.
Karolina Muchova ended Coco Gauff’s dangerously impressive run at Wimbledon this year as she saved a match point to dispatch the American in a thrilling 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) match to keep alive her hopes of an all-Czech Grand Slam final for the first time.
The Czech star is looking forward to a historic Grand Slam final
Photo: Karolina Muchova hits a forehand. Photography: Andrew Candridge/Reuters
With compatriot Linda Noskova facing Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the second semi-final on Thursday, Muchova’s arrival in Saturday’s final means there could be a third Czech in four years to carry the rosewater Venus plate after victories by Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krycikova in 2024.
No one would have guessed that Muchova was allergic to grass, requiring “a lot of pills, sprays and eye drops” just to step on the most famous patch of grass in tennis.
While the crowd struggled to maintain their composure in the oven-like atmosphere on Center Court, Muchova’s diverse group shone on the grass courts, breaking Gauff in the third and fifth games, as the American dropped her serve for a second time after she misfired a forehand into the backboards.
A 111 mph ace sealed the set for Muchova.
Gauff fights back, but Muchova holds her nerve
Photo: Coco Gauff versus Karolina Muchova. Photography: Toby Melville/Reuters
However, no one could accuse Gauff of raising the white flag when the going gets tough or even of taking the easy route as she survived four straight blows to reach the semi-finals – and once again she was prepared to go the distance.
After failing to capitalize on any of the first eight opportunities she had to break serve, the seventh-seeded American player finally succeeded in breaking serve in her ninth to lead 3-1.
Another break sent 5-1 to her mother in delight in the player’s penalty area and after one play all was even.
After two one-sided sets, both players showcased their incredible striking abilities, delivering powerful forehands and stunning backhands, as they went toe-to-toe in a captivating playoff.
Image: Karolina Muchova’s reaction after getting a point. Photography: Marko Djurica – Reuters
Gauff had two break points to take a 5-4 lead, but once 10th seed Muchova used her free card to get out of the painful spot, there was no stopping her.
She produced everything she could in a nerve-wracking tie-break, including the winner with a volley, as she put pressure on Gauff to earn her first point of the match.
While the player was pleading, she did not miss a second and raised her arms high in victory after watching the American hit a forehand into the net to end the exciting match that lasted two hours and 35 minutes.
