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Having made it to her maiden Grand Slam final, Karolina Muchova is looking to stay grounded and let her tennis do the talking.
Muchova entered the 2023 French Open semifinal against Aryna Sabalenka as the underdog. The Czech, however, produced a dogged display to stun Sabalenka on Court Philippe-Chatrier with a 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5 win on Thursday, June 8.
In a match that saw momentum shift multiple times, Muchova saved a match point down 5-2 in the third set. She then broke the World No. 2 twice in a row to register a comeback victory in three hours and 13 minutes.
In the on-court interview after the match, Muchova was asked about her wide-ranging game that saw her mix slices, down-the-line backhands, drop shots and more to keep Sabalenka guessing. Although happy with the compliments, the World No. 43 said she didn't want to hear any praise as she didn't want it to get to her head.
“Well, thank you. I've heard it, people are telling that [about my game] to me and I don't want to hear it. I don't want to get into my head, to become cocky or anything. I'm just trying to play my game and then we work on it and I'm glad it worked so well. Thanks to my team and everyone, we work on this together, so it's our success,” she said.
Muchova won five games in a row in the third set to upset the second seed Sabalenka and register her career-best result at a Grand Slam. When quizzed about how she managed to stay focused and turn the match around, Muchova said she wasn't sure exactly how she did it.
"I don't really know what happened," she confessed. "The atmosphere, people are just pushing me [in] all the matches. It's unbelievable. I just try to keep fighting and it worked, I really don't know what happened. I'm so happy."
The 26-year-old further said she drew energy from the crowd to fight back from the brink of elimination.
“Just look around. It's pretty easy here, at this beautiful stadium with so many people watching and I would repeat myself again. It goes just nice with everyone, you know. As I go for the towel, people there cheering on me on both sides. I hear my name, it's [an] incredible feeling,” she explained.
Resurgent Karolina Muchova to face Iga Swiatek or Beatriz Haddad Maia in 2023 French Open final
Having won 25 out of 32 matches this year, Karolina Muchova is very much back to her best.
Muchova's highest ranking previously was No. 19, which she achieved in 2021. She slipped down the rankings last year after enduring an injury-ridden season.
With her run in Paris, Muchova is guaranteed to return to the top 20 in the WTA rankings on Monday. If she manages to clinch the Roland Garros title, she could even make her top-10 debut.
Having entered the French Open semifinal against Aryna Sabalenka with a 4-0 record against players ranked inside the top 3, the Czech proved once again that she can go toe-to-toe with the best in the business. Next up, Muchova will face either World No. 1 Iga Swiatek or World No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia, who lock horns in the other semifinal.
