“My coaches were trying to wake me up” – Muchova on disappointing end to great US Open
Karolina Muchova struggled to recapture her best form of the fortnight against Coco Gauff
Karolina Muchova at the 2023 US Open (Chryslene Caillaud/Panoramic)
Karolina Muchova is scrappy under pressure, and saved five match points against Coco Gauff in their US Open semi-final.
But in the hours prior to that, the Czech did not bring her best tennis to the court – and when the match was disrupted by environmental protesters, her team took the opportunity to try and switch things up.
“I tried to take it as a positive, kind of,” Muchova said afterwards. “I could talk to my coaches. They were trying to wake me up.
“So, yeah, I tried, but I think then after the break I actually played a little bit better, but it was not enough to, yeah, to play great against Coco, to beat her.”
Muchova: You need 100 per cent against Gauff
It was a contrast to her crushingly dominant display against Sorana Cirstea in the quarter-final, when she won 6-0, 6-3.
“Two days ago I felt like I cannot do a mistake on the court and the other matches it’s tough to compare because every match is different,” she added. “This one today you need to bring, you know, maybe 100% to beat her because she’s top athlete, top player. You really need to be there to get a chance to get a win.
“I don’t think I played my 60% today, so I had not zero chance, but even if I had chance there, I didn’t take it today.”
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