Muchova beats Gauff in thriller to reach first Wimbledon final

LONDON: Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova saved a match point to reach her first Wimbledon final with a pulsating three-set win against Coco Gauff on Thursday.

Muchova held her nerve in a gripping final set tie-break, winning 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (12/10) in two hours and 35 minutes in searing temperatures on Centre Court.

In the final, Muchova will face Czech ninth seed Linda Noskova or Ukrainian 12th seed Marta Kostyuk, who meet in the other semi-final later on Thursday.

Muchova is into her second Grand Slam final and her first since finishing as the 2023 French Open runner-up.

In her first Wimbledon semi-final, Muchova exorcised the ghosts of her previous dismal experiences in south-west London.

The 29-year-old had lost in the first round on her previous four appearances at Wimbledon.

Gauff had won six of her seven previous meetings with Muchova, but the Czech won their most recent encounter in Stuttgart this year and once again she got the better of the two-time Grand Slam champion.

“It sounds really nice to be in the final. It was such a big fight. You are up and down, no time to think but it was very nerve-wracking,” Muchova said.

After battling injuries earlier in her career, Muchova is finally fulfilling her potential, but even she has been taken aback by her success at Wimbledon over the last fortnight.

Muchova takes “pills, sprays, eyedrops” to manage a grass allergy, but she is no longer adverse to playing on the lawns of the All England Club.

Gripping finale

Muchova is at last unimpeded after suffering a multitude of injuries in recent years, including problems with her right wrist, left wrist, abdomen, back, thigh, ankle and foot.

In 2022, doctors told Muchova that it would be a good idea for her to quit tennis altogether, while in 2023 and 2024 right wrist surgery sidelined her for 10 months.

Now she is just one win away from a maiden Grand Slam title.

Gauff, seeded seventh, had struggled badly with her serve for much of the tournament and has the most double faults on the women’s tour this year.

Muchova took advantage of that glaring flaw to break in the third game of the first set and again in the fifth.

The Czech sealed the set with an ace, sending Gauff scurrying to the sanctuary of the locker room to compose herself.

Gauff had 12 unforced errors in the first set, but in keeping with her tenacious character, she hit back with a dominant second set that could not have been more different to her spluttering start.

Steadying her serve and playing with far more purpose and intensity, she broke for a 3-1 lead and emphatically closed out the set to force a decider.

The final set was a nerve-jangling battle, with break points saved by both players as the tension mounted and Muchova appearing to suffer an abdominal injury.

Muchova had a flawless record in tie-breaks this year, a run she maintained in style, diving full length to volley a stunning winner that even Gauff was forced to applaud.

Muchova was given a time violation for delaying her serve at 8-8 and the warning rattled the Czech, who blazed a forehand long to give Gauff a match point.

But Gauff let Muchova off the hook with a weak drop shot into the net.

Muchova floated a sublime lob over Gauff to bring up a match point but she slipped at the net as the American hammered a winner past her.

Undeterred, Muchova kept the pressure on Gauff and finally closed out the most memorable win of her career.