(September 4, 2024) FLUSHING, NY – A grateful Karolina Muchova is back in the final four of the US Open. The Czech dispatched No. 22 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday afternoon.
She has now reached the semifinals of majors four times. She was a finalist at Roland Garros last year.
“It was a little weird match, I have to say,” Muchova said during her on-court interview. “I had the problems, having to run to the bathroom and back while Haddad Maia had taken a medical time out. I’m happy how I managed it. I’m really happy to be back in the semis. I wouldn’t have imagined that before the tournament, it’s going to be very tough next and a very exciting match.”
“Very weird match, weird dynamic of the match,” she said in her news conference. Very tough, as every match here. I think I played good in the key points, meaning when I had a breakpoint or I was serving for a game, I always pull out good shot, I think.
“Yeah, I’m happy that I managed it in two sets again.”
For most of the past year since she made the US Open semis, she’s been dealing with a wrist injury and had to take nine months off the tour.
“Injuries, I don’t even like to talk about injuries, but yeah, depends what kind of injury,” she said. “I’ve been through a lot of them. Yeah, this last one, the wrist surgery, was one of the most, one of the worst ones that I had.
“Yeah, now looking back, I’m, like, oh, it actually flew by, the time, and I feel strong again. But when I go back to February I have to say I wasn’t always that positive. It was tough moments honestly when I couldn’t move the arm and couldn’t do much.
“But, yeah, it’s few bad days, and then I always try to just regroup and focus on the step that I could do, what’s the first step I can do towards recovery. I had really great team of doctors around me and my team who is with me all the time supporting me. We worked a lot. And through every injury, we always stick together and work on it to get healthy again and be able to play.
“I’m now just very grateful for all those people that always have my back, and yeah, that I’m here playing pain-free.”
She returned to the tour just before Wimbledon.
Muchova will face the winner of the night match between No.1 Iga Swiatek or No. 6 Jessica Pegula on Thursday in the semifinals.
On possibly playing Swiatek:
“Against Iga? It was very nice. She really supported me when I got the surgery. It’s always nice to get that support, especially from her being World No. 1, I think, the best player that there is.
“Yeah, I kind of feel like, you know, we know each other since, I don’t know, it was maybe one of hers and one of my first WTA tournaments in Prague that we played first time that we met there, and then we played few matchups as well in the COVID in Prague, and then we practiced last year in Warsaw I came to, so I would say little connection there, and we always had great practices, it’s very intense. It’s nice.
“Yeah, I mean, she’s World No. 1. It’s always challenge to play her, to practice with her. They’re a nice team. That’s just cool.”
On playing Pegula:
“Yeah, she’s playing unbelievable. Toronto title and then finals in Cincinnati. I mean, she’s on fire, obviously having great confidence playing this deep in the tournaments week by week, here as well.
“We played, yeah, on the parking lot in Cincinnati. That was tough battle. A little bit different conditions, I would say. It was very tough to play there, but she’s just great player, playing very deep in the court, good mover. She didn’t give me one point for free, so very, very tough battle.”
