Karolina Muchova has reached her first Wimbledon final at the age of 29 after outlasting Coco Gauff in a topsy-turvy encounter on Centre Court.
The Czech 10th seed held her nerve to prevail 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(12-10) over two-time Grand Slam winner Gauff, whom she also beat earlier this year in Stuttgart. It is the 21st time in Muchova’s career that she has beaten a top-10 player, and she has improved her record on grass to 11-1 this season.
“There are so many of us tennis players; not many get to play on this court,” Muchova said afterwards.
“It’s special, so historic in this sport, we came here to warm up with Linda (Nosková) and took a photo.
“It’s a nice moment to experience all of this. This court is beautiful.”
Throughout the opening set Muchova had all the answers to every question asked of her from Guaff, who was the highest-ranked player to reach the last four in this year’s tournament. In a swift 20 minutes she opened up a 4-1 lead on the American, who hit a series of costly errors. To add to Gauff’s frustration, in the following game she had three consecutive break point chances but failed to convert all of them as the Czech held once again. It was a perfect start for the in-form Muchova, who secured the 6-2 lead in just 40 minutes by firing an 111mph ace out wide.
Such blips have become a common occurrence for Gauff. It is the fifth match in a row that she has dropped a set at SW19 this year, and the third time it was the opener. Staging yet another fight back, she capitalized on a lacklustre Muchova service game to break for the first time four games into the second frame. Continuing to turn the match around with the help of some nifty play at the net, suddenly the seventh seed was the one in control as she drew level.
Playing in a deciding set for the 24th time this season, Gauff had the advantage of being the player to have won more three-set matches (15) than anybody else on the WTA Tour so far this year. However, a determined Muchova refused to buckle under pressure, saving two break points at 4-4 that would have rewarded her rival the chance to serve the match out. There was little to separate the two during the closing stages, which paved the way for a breathtaking tiebreaker full of twists and turns.
Muchova saw a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak come and go. Then to make matters worse, she received a time violation when serving at 8-8 before hitting an error that handed Gauff a match point, which she saved with a perfectly placed lob. To add to the drama, Muchova then had a match point at 10-9 but slipped at the net and ended up watching the ball pass her. She finally prevailed two points later with the help of a Gauff shot crashing into the net.
“That was a rollercoaster. Up and down, match point up and match point down in 10 seconds,” she said.
“I don’t even know what I’m saying. I’m really shaky, I don’t how to take it in. The atmosphere was indescribable, thank you to everyone who came and supported.”
Towards the end of the match, Muchova was seen holding the side of her stomach. Although she has played down its significance.
“I’m OK (after seeming to hurt her side), I was just trying to catch a breath. I’m good. Yeah, I’m good.” She said.
Muchova joins an elite list of players to have beaten three Grand Slam winners in the second week of a major to reach the final. The last to do so were Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina in 2023. She will rise to a career high of sixth in the rankings on Monday and could go as high as fourth if she wins the title.
In the final, Muchova will face either Marta Kostyuk, who has 22 Tour-level wins since April, or recently crowned Berlin Open champion Linda Noskova. She will become the oldest player to make their debut in a women’s Wimbledon final since Nathalie Tauziat in 1998.
