Karolina Muchova revealed she had “a weird feeling” throughout the match against Jasmine Paolini and also took a moment to reflect on fearing for her career just several months earlier because she wasn’t sure what would happen after “the worst and most serious injury” of her career.
In the US Open round-of-16, the Czech tennis star ousted the fifth-seeded Italian 6-3 6-3 to make back-to-back quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows. Last year, the 28-year-old was playing the tennis of her life – finished as runner-up at the French Open – and also reached the US Open semifinal and a career-high ranking of No. 7 in the world.Â
But after falling short to Coco Gauff in last year’s semifinal in New York, Muchova went without any action for the next 10 months because the recovery from her wrist injury wasn’t progressing well and she ultimately had to undergo surgery in February. Now two months into her comeback, the Czech is ranked at No. 52 in the world but is back to doing well on the biggest stage.
“At that time I didn’t think of what’s gonna happen honestly. This was my worst and most serious injury I would say. I love the sport so in my head I was like… I will do everything I can to make it back here and try. Here I am today. I’m really grateful for all the people who helped me. I’m a really happy kid now,” the 2023 US Open semifinalist said in her on-court interview.
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Muchova: I had a weird feeling in my whole body…
Early in the match, the former world No. 7 made a slow start and fell 1-3 down. But then, the unseeded Czech impressively responded by claiming back-to-back breaks and winning the next five games to overturn the deficit and seal the opener.
In the second set, the 28-year-old went on another big run when she won four consecutive games from 2-3 down to complete a straight-set win in style.Â
On paper, it looked like a routine against this year’s French Open and Wimbledon runner-up. But it wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
“I was a little bit nervous today. I don’t even know why, but it was kind of a weird match. I had a weird feeling in my whole body whole match. But yeah, I’m glad that I won,” Muchova revealed.
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Muchova on her game and the WTA Tour competition
Following Muchova’s 6-3 7-6 (5) second-round win over Naomi Osaka – in a match where the former world No. 7 did extremely well at the net and with mixing her game – Chris Evert said about her game: “She plays like a guy. She wants to play like a guy. The guys have bigger serves than the women, they have better volleys for the most part, they move a little bit better.” Afterward, the American tennis icon faced some criticism and backlash but apologized, while the Czech said she didn’t agree with that statement.Â
Against Paolini, Muchova won 11-of-14 of her net points (79 percent), fired 17 winners and also claimed 82 percent of the points played on her first serve. To some, the 2023 US Open semifinalist’s aggressive but at the same time very balanced game might be a bit weird but the Czech tennis star enjoys it.
“I can’t tell if it’s unique, but I just like to change it up. I like to do what I do, basically going to the net and play a game. Have more fun; not just grind back and play forehands and backhands. It’s how I see the game. It’s how I like to play it. It’s the things that I like to as well improve in practice and then bring it on the court,” the 28-year-old explained.
Meanwhile, Muchova is set to battle against No. 22 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia for a place in the US Open semifinal. Against the Brazilian, she has a perfect 3-0 head-to-head record. However, the Czech insists that she absolutely won’t take Haddad Maia for granted because she believes that the competition is very strong across the Tour.
“I just usually just look at the matches they played at that tournament to see few things, but I think these days and against these opponents and girls it’s tough to find any weakness. Every day is different, and so I try to be in that game and spot in the first few games, what could work and bring it right away on the court. I also play a lot with how I feel on the court and what I feel to play. So tactically, yeah, but then, when the match is progressing, I just trying to play by feeling,” Muchova noted.