Muchova saves match point, outlasts Gauff in Wimbledon semifinals
Karolina Muchova advanced to her second career Grand Slam singles final in dramatic fashion on Thursday at Wimbledon, where she outlasted Coco Gauff in a thrilling three-setter that ended in a deciding tiebreak, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6[10].
After losing a 6-3 lead earlier in the tiebreak, Muchova saved a match point at 9-8 before coming through to beat Gauff for a second time this year, having lost their first six head-to-head meetings.
In Saturday's final, she will face either No. 9 seed Linda Noskova, her fellow Czech, or No. 12 seed Marta Kostyuk in a match that will guarantee a first-time Grand Slam champion.
Gauff came into the first Wimbledon semifinal for both players not only having a big lead in her head-to-head against Muchova, but also more experience on the hallowed grounds of Centre Court. But something had to give after the two players split two fairly one-sided sets. Muchova entered the semifinal with a 28-0 record this season when winning the first set, while Gauff was 13-2 in her last 15 three-set matches at Grand Slams -- including four wins in deciders at the All England Club this year. Neither player lost serve in 12 games to set the stage for the dramatic conclusion, with Gauff saving two break points down 2-1 and Muchova digging out a hold from 15-40 at 4-4.
A pick-up forehand volley from her shoe tops was a highlight for Muchova in the early stages of the tiebreak en route to building a 6-3 lead. But Gauff, who came from 7-4 down to win a 10-point tiebreak against Solana Sierra in the second round, wasn't about to go quietly. She won three straight points to knot the score, and six of the next eight, to put herself on the precipice of a fourth career Grand Slam singles final. But she missed a follow-up forehand drop shot serving for the win that gave Muchova second life to eventually win the match.
It marked the first time that Muchova won a match after facing match point since the 2023 Roland Garros semifinals against Aryna Sabalenka -- and the first time Gauff lost from match point up in her professional career.
"At the end of the day, that's the choice I made," Gauff said in her post-match press conference. "Was it the right one in that moment? Maybe not. But then also, if I make it, everyone's going to say how clutch of a shot that was. I think that's just tennis. You lose some points off margins. Honestly, the return came back like in a tricky place for me. The bounce kind of caught me off guard. I just panicked a little bit. I think it just takes moments like this to learn from, have more of a clear, concise plan of what I want to do.
"At the end of the day, I left it all out there. My only regret -- or I don't have any regrets. I think it's just obviously points I want to make better decisions on. But that's how you learn and become a better player."
More to come...