Muchova perfect (5-0) against players ranked in top three heading into Roland-Garros final against Swiatek

Karolina Muchova is undefeated during her career against players ranked in the top three. Muchova will face the top-ranked player in the world, Iga Swiatek, in the French Open title match.

Karolina Muchova, Roland-Garros 2023 – © AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Ricky Dimon

June 8, 2023

Karolina Muchova may not be the favorite in Saturday’s Roland-Garros final against Iga Swiatek, but the underdog certainly can’t be discounted.

After all, she has an amazing record against opponents who are in the top three in the world rankings — and Swiatek, of course, is currently No 1. In fact, Muchova’s record is perfect; she has never lost to anyone in the top three.

With a 4-0 mark in such matches heading into Thursday’s semi-final against Aryna Sabalenka, the Czech continued the streak by pulling off a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5 upset after three hours and 13 minutes.

In total, here are her five wins over players in the top three:

Karolina Muchova vs top 3:

Roland Garros 2023 d. #2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 6-7 7-5
Roland Garros 2022 d. #3 Maria Sakkari 7-6 7-6
Madrid 2021 d. #2 Naomi Osaka 6-4 3-6 6-1
Australian Open 2021 d. #1 Ash Barty 1-6 6-3 6-2
Wimbledon 2019 d. #3 Karolina Pliskova 4-6 7-5 13-11

5-0.
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) June 8, 2023

It just shows me that I can play against them.
Karolina Muchova

“I don’t think I will be the favorite,” Muchova responded during her press conference when a reporter joked that she should be the favorite against Swiatek given her perfect record against the top three. “Yeah, it’s nice. I didn’t really even know about this statistic, if I say (it) like that.

“It just shows me that I can play against [the top players]. I can compete, and obviously the matches are super close. Even today, match [point] down, you really never know if I (will) win or lose, but it’s great to know that I have the chance to win and I win against the top players. That for sure boosts my confidence.”

The 26-year-old is 1-0 lifetime in the head-to-head series with Swiatek, having prevailed 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 on the red clay of Prague in 2019. Swiatek was ranked 95th at the time.