In what will go down as a Wimbledon classic, Karolina Muchova edged Coco Gauff 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) on Thursday to advance to her first final at the All England Club and second Grand Slam final of her career.
Muchova let a 6-3 lead get away in the deciding tiebreaker, then saved a match point down 9-8.
Four points later, she clinched arguably the biggest win of her WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz career with a backhand down that line that Gauff hit into the net.
"Honestly, during that tiebreak, it was like kind of [a] roller coaster as well, emotionally, for me," Muchova told reporters after the match. "One point I felt good, I hit a nice winner, and then I did, like, a terrible mistake. In my head [I] was just like, I have to keep hitting.
"I was telling myself if I'm going to lose this, I want to lose on my own terms. My terms is going forward, playing aggressive, going to the net."
It was Muchova's second consecutive win over Gauff this season, after losing to her in their first six meetings. The World No. 9 also snapped Gauff's streak of four consecutive wins in three-setters.
Muchova will play Linda Noskova, a first-time Grand Slam finalist, for the title on Saturday. Noskova defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-4 in the second semifinal on Thursday.
It will be the first all-Czech final in Grand Slam history.
For Muchova, it will be her second Grand Slam final after making the Roland Garros title match in 2023. She lost that match to Iga Swiatek in three sets.
"It's been a while," Muchova said of that first major final experience. "It's been three years. I don't really know what I was doing [on] a day off. But I will just try to do the same [that] I've been doing here these two weeks. Do the kind of same ritual, same stuff.
"Hit for 30 minutes tomorrow, try to keep it chill, recover as best as I can, then have that last match on Saturday."
Muchova and Noskova have played just once before, at last year's US Open. Muchova came from a set down in that match to win 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2.
