Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic advanced to her second consecutive US Open semifinal as she ousted No.22 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 6-1, 6-4 in 1 hour and 25 minutes in women's singles. The match included a medical timeout for Muchova, and she also retired to the back of the court several times during the second set but never lost her composure as she pulled off an inspiring comeback from injury.
"A little weird match, I have to say," Muchova said in her on-court interview quoted by the WTA tour. "I had a lot of problems, I wouldn't like to comment on it. I'm happy I managed to run to the bathroom and back. Sorry if it disturbed anyone, but I had no other choice!
Muchova will then face either No.1 seed Iga Swiatek or No.6 seed Jessica Pegula as she seeks to reach her second Grand Slam final after going through on the final day of Roland Garros 2023. Swiatek leads Muchova, 2-1, while Pegula leads, 1-0, with all matches between the three coming in three-setters.
Muchova's run to the 2023 semifinals was her last tournament before undergoing wrist surgery, which kept her out for nine months. Now ranked No.52, she has reached her fourth major semifinal without dropping a set in just her sixth event since returning to action in June. She is the fourth unseeded major semifinalist of 2024, joining Dayana Yastremska (Australian Open), Mirra Andreeva (Roland Garros) and Donna Vekic (Wimbledon).
Muchova now leads 4-0 in her head-to-head with Haddad Maia, their first meeting coming at the 2016 Cagnes-sur-Mer ITF W100 when Muchova prevailed 7-5, 6-1. She also won their tour-level matches at 2022 Ostrava and 2023 Cincinnati.
This marks the first tour-level event in which Muchova has reached the semifinals twice. She is the first Czech woman since Helena Sukova in 1986-87 with US Open semifinal appearances in consecutive years.
Two marathon deuce games in a row to open the match went Muchova's way. She saved two break points in the opening game with consecutive service winners, sealing her fifth break point on Haddad Maia's serve with a strong forehand. The Brazilian struggled to find her rhythm in the first set, hitting 10 unforced errors to six winners, although she raised her level in the second set. Muchova, however, broke through at 3-2 with a backhand down the line.
Read also| US Open: Jack Draper Advances to First Major Quarterfinal
Read also| Pakistan Excludes Shaheen Shah Afridi from Test Squad for Rawalpindi Match
