Karolína Muchová beats Coco Gauff to end six-match losing streak against the American
· Yahoo Sports
After two hours and 24 minutes of creative shot-making, characteristically impressive defense and some clutch serving for good measure, Karolina Muchová earned her first win against Coco Gauff 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 Friday, on the Stuttgart Tennis Grand Prix’s indoor red clay.
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With the win in Germany, Muchová broke a streak of six consecutive losses to Gauff, including a 6-1, 6-1 loss at the Miami Open just over three weeks ago. Muchová had only won one set in those six matches, but with that record stacked against her, the Czech put history out of her mind ahead of Friday’s contest.
After all, the pair had never met on her favorite surface.
“She’s obviously one of the best athletes, one of the best tennis players. … So I’m just really glad I pulled out the first win against Coco. I’m just so happy that I finally beat her,” Muchová said during her on-court interview.
“This was actually our first match on a clay court, so on the clay we were 0-0 in our matches. I tried to keep it positive and take advantage of this surface, play my game and then it was really, again, as I said in the match before, it’s a thin line. It’s just so tough to play against these top players. You just never know.”
Muchová was the more consistent of the two Friday, and advances to face Elina Svitolina in the semifinals, while Gauff exited the WTA 500 tournament at the quarterfinal stage for the third year in a row.
A low-energy first set put Gauff in an early deficit before she regrouped and upped her level for the second. Asking often for more noise from Gavin MacMillan and Jean-Christophe Faurel in her coaching box, Gauff steadied her serve and started accelerating through her forehand, seeming to discombobulate Muchová.
The American’s previous wins have been built on hitting her forehand into Muchová’s backhand with heavy spin, trying to create a backhand-to-backhand rally in her favor. Her foot speed also blunts so much of Muchová’s touch and ability to find the corners of the court.
Unsurprisingly, given both Gauff and Muchová’s patience and defensive abilities, the pair produced tense, rollercoaster points throughout the match. The highlight was a marathon rally at 2-2 in the second set won by Gauff that left Muchová doubled over, gasping for air. It was the start of a 12-minute game that gave Gauff her first break in the second set — and kicked off a run of four straight games won by the returner.
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Gauff missed a forehand wide on Muchová’s serve at 5-5, 30-40, but Muchová gave her a second chance when a wonky forehand sailed out and Gauff didn’t waste the gift. She cracked a return to force an error from Muchová and set herself up to take the second set.
But it was Muchová who was the more consistent — and consistently tenacious — player as the match wore on. The Czech wizard broke for a 4-2 lead in the third set, then saved three break points to hold for 5-2. After Gauff won her serve at love to put the pressure back on, Muchová closed the match out with smart serving, raising her arms to the air when a Gauff backhand return floated long.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Tennis, Women's Tennis
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