Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova showed single-minded focus despite her injury history to end Coco Gauff’s incredible run in the Wimbledon semi-finals, defeating the American tennis player in a thrilling three-set tie-break.
Gauff, who has yet to reach the last four at Wimbledon, was in a precarious situation at her third Grand Slam of the year, but the 10th seed Muchova saved a match point in a third-set tie-break and came out on top with a nerve-racking 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) victory over the seventh seed.
Muchova, who has recently undergone multiple surgeries, came up with a spectacular diving volley that caught Gauff off guard before charging towards the grass, but never losing sight of the ball.
Muchova was prepared to put her body on the line, bruises and all, to reach the Wimbledon final.
All Czech final
Compatriot Linda Noskova defeated Marta Kostyuk in the second semi-final on Thursday, making the pair the first Czechs to reach the women’s Grand Slam final.
It also meant that for the third time in four years, a Czech athlete held aloft the Venus Rosewater Dish, following victories over Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.
All those dreams were about to disappear in the blink of an eye for Muchova when Gauff was on match point at 9-8 in the tiebreak, but the mesmerized crowd gasped as Gauff let out a roar.
After a split second of hesitation, her drop shot attempt ended with the ball going into the net.
Roller coaster tiebreak to decide the match
Muchova was among those who could hardly believe the drama that unfolded during a shocking tie-break that saw Gauff surge to 4-1 and extend it to 6-3 before going against logic and reaching match point first.
But as Gauff discovered, the gulf between reaching match point and transitioning to match point is as wide as the Atlantic Ocean.
“I’m really happy to be in the final. It was a very big match. It was like a roller coaster, with ups and downs,” a beaming Muchova told the crowd, still trying to catch her breath.
“You have match point within 10 seconds and then they lose match point. You don’t have time to think, but you’re very nervous. You don’t even know what you’re saying.”
“I’m really shaking and trying to make sense of it, but the atmosphere here is indescribable.”
The pair last met in the 2023 US Open major semifinals, where play was halted for nearly 50 minutes by climate protesters, including one who stuck his foot to the cement floor of the stands.
At least this time, it was the players who generated all the excitement.
center court furnace
No one would have guessed that Muchova was allergic to grass and would need “a lot of medicine, sprays and eye drops” just to step foot on tennis’ most famous lawn.
Muchova’s grass-court pick-and-mix versatility shone through as she broke Gauff in the third and fifth games as the crowd struggled to maintain composure in the furnace-like atmosphere of Center Court, and the American back-hodded a forehand so hard that she gave up her second serve.
The 179km/h (111mph) ace set Muchova and moved her closer to reaching her first Wimbledon final.
But no one can fault Gauff for raising the white flag when the going got tough, or even for taking the easy way out. She withstood four straight three sets to reach the semifinals, and once again, she was ready to go the distance.
Gauff knows she’s close.
After failing to convert any of his first eight break point chances, the American finally made the breakthrough in the ninth to take a 3-1 lead.
When they broke again at 5-1, her mother erupted in joy in the player’s box, and one game later the score was tied for good.
After two one-sided sets, both protagonists displayed their incredible ball-striking abilities, producing blistering forehands and breathtaking backhands to lock them out in a captivating decider.
Gauff had two chances to extend her lead to 5-4, but once Muchova used her get-out-of-jail-free card and wriggled out of that sticky spot, there was no stopping her.
She made it all in the match tiebreak, including an outrageous diving volley winner, then lobbed Gauff for her first match point.
The player begged but made no mistake in the second, watching as the American smashed a forehand into the net to end a 2-hour, 35-minute spectacle before raising his arms high in celebration.
“Obviously it was a super close game. You definitely think about the second goal, the third goal, the last point, whatever. It’s definitely a memorable game. It’s hard to digest. We just let everything go,” Gauff summed up.
Gauff expects hate messages after loss
The 22-year-old said she expected to receive hate messages online after missing match point against Muchova.
Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion, said: “I’m going to be online. I’m probably already getting hateful comments and things like that. It’s okay. I’m just going to get stronger.”
“Bettors losing, angry, it happens all the time. It sucks, but it’s like, whatever.
“Next time, I will win and we will definitely team up.”
Several players have spoken out about hateful messages on social media in recent years, including death threats.
In January 2024, tennis’ governing body introduced an AI tool called Threat Matrix to monitor social media abuse against players.
The WTA and ITF subsequently announced that analysts had verified around 8,000 messages in 2024 as being “abusive, violent or threatening”, highlighting that “angry gamblers are increasingly targeting players”.
