By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, June 6, 2023
No. 43 Karolina Muchova hit 21 winners topping 2021 finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2 to reach her first Roland Garros semifinal.
Photo credit: Roland Garros Facebook
Streaking inside the service line, Karolina Muchova met the moment with aggression and quality creativity.
A dynamic Muchova defeated 2021 finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2 marching into her first Roland Garros semifinal.
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World No. 43 Muchova had never reached the second week in four prior Paris appearances and now she'll face either world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka or Ukrainian Elina Svitolina for a spot in Saturday's final.
The 26-year-old from Olomouc, Czech Republic continues a Czech charge into the final four. Muchova joins Barbora Krejcikova. Petra Kvitova, Jana Novotna, Karolina Pliskova, Lucie Safarova, Nicole Vaidisova and Marketa Vondrousova as the eighth Czech woman since 1990 to reach the Roland Garros semifinals.
It is Muchova's second career Grand Slam semifinal coming two years after she contested the final four at the Australian Open.
A two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist, Muchova's all-court game typically translates more effectively to faster surfaces. But Muchova knows her way around clay, reaching the 2019 Prague final on dirt and beating a young and talented player named Iga Swiatek along the way.
Today, Muchova was masterful in the front court, winning 14 of 16 net points, including forward finishes on some pivotal points.
In a match of talented veterans on the comeback trail, Muchova hit 21 winners—five more than Pavlyuchenkova—and committed just 21 unforced errors.
A tight opening set saw Muchova break for 6-5 then serve out the set. Muchova won eight of the last 10 points of the opening set.
The second set was all Muchova.
Muchova, who upset No. 8-seeded Maria Sakkari in her opener, broke twice in Pavlyuchenkova's first three service games of the second set bursting out to a 5-1 lead.
Exerting her all-court skills, Muchova closed in one hour, 38 minutes.