On Friday, Karolina Muchova will step onto court to play one of the biggest matches of her career – facing the great Serena Williams. While the Czech will clearly be viewed as the underdog, she has played incredibly well over the last few months and can’t be overlooked. She has both the versatility and the mentality to defeat Williams.
Muchova’s year so far
The Czech player started the year as the world number #144. She made her first big stride by coming through qualifying to reach the quarterfinals in Doha, beating Hsieh Su-Wei along the way. She took an in form Kerber to three sets in Miami, before finally making her big breakthrough in Prague. Ranked outside of the top #100, she beat Swiatek and Brady to reach the final, before falling short to Teichmann in three sets.
This run clearly inspired the 23-year-old, who went on to have a deep run at Wimbledon. She impressively conquered Kontaveit in the third round, before facing fellow Czech Pliskova in the fourth round. It was in that match where she really shined. She won an epic match, winning the final set 13-11. This particularly bodes well for her upcoming match against Serena – who has a very similar playing style to Pliskova. They both have massive serves and are hard hitters. Therefore, it’s clear that Muchova can cause some real damage to a player like Serena.
She also displayed a massive fight against Hsieh Su-Wei in her second round match. She completely dominated the first set 6-1, but dropped the second set 6-4. The world number #44 tried everything to stop Hsieh from powering through the third set, as she started to play with a lot more variety. She played more aggressively, approached the net more often and even did some serve and volleying! She was even able to brush off the nerves in the final set tiebreaker, dominating it to defeat the 29th seed, 6-1 4-6 7-6(2).
How Muchova can beat Serena
While the Czech #6 may not be the most experienced player, she has all the skills to beat anyone. She can play in a variety of styles: she can go for winners from the back of the court, but she is also comfortable with mixing it up with slices and approaching the net. It’s this ability to adapt that will be crucial when facing the number #8 seed. Things may not go her way, but she always has a plan B, C and D and has the power to make the American feel uncomfortable.
Furthermore, Serena may not be playing her best tennis at the moment. Sure, she dominated Sharapova, but she may be feeling emotionally drained after such an eagerly anticipated match against her rival. She even struggled against the world number #121 McNally and dropped the opening set on Wednesday. It will be a massive opportunity for Muchova to make headlines. She can cause a major upset, as long as she isn’t overwhelmed by the situation.
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