If not for her fragile health, Karolína Muchová would be one of the best tennis players in the world. No one who had ever seen the girl from Olomouc play at a time when she wasn’t suffering from one of her many pains could doubt her one iota. Twenty-six year old Czech is now shining. He had won seven matches in a row and had reached the quarter-finals in his first tournament appearance at Indian Wells.
Muchová was one of only five Czech players to make it to the top sixteen at the famous event in the desert of California’s Coachella Valley.
Another incredible success of Czech tennis can be understood, each star from a country in the center of Europe telling a unique story and demonstrating their unique game.
Muchová’s tennis record is unique, fun, and has practically entertained fans since she first introduced herself fully to the world less than five years ago in New York.
At the US Open, she progressed from qualifying to the third round and, as a player from the third hundredth place in the world, she sensationally beat one of the favourites, Spaniard Garbiňa Muguruza.
Unbiased fans and pundits alike enjoyed the tennis then and still enjoy it today.
“Muchová is one of the big highlights. The WTA organization must be promoting it like crazy,” one American fan said on Twitter about the appeal of the Czech match.
Almost every time a healthy Muchová took over the court, big things happened. Her sparkling, unpredictable and colorful style attracts attention.
In February, her phenomenal tweener appearance in Dubai took the world by storm. A popular shot played between the legs with his back to goal was picked up by the Czech in an almost hopeless situation and he scored a perfect lob from it.
Something like this is rare, but Muchová puts on other shows very regularly. Even the WTA is starting to realize this.
“From tweeners to sharp volleys. Nobody plays like Muchová,” wrote renowned tennis writer Courtney Nguyen on the organization’s official website.
The Czech was especially praised after her victory over the two-time “thousandth” winner in Indian Wells Viktoria Azarenkova.
“The Belarusian is one of the most enduring players on hard surfaces, but Muchova’s game is absolutely impeccable. After all those injuries she is back to shine brightly, we are glad to see her,” wrote The Tennis Letter magazine.
Out of the many eye-catching exchanges, this combination ended up in exactly the right way on the internet getting the most attention.
“Lots of glamor on the court could hurt any top female opponent. Now that she’s healthy again, she’s wreaking havoc on the circuit again,” Nguyen wrote.
He highlights its striking variety, court awareness and, like American fans, calls it a reliable generator of material for the best montage of exchanges.
“He is gifted with foresight and racket control. No one else on the court has his ability to improvise,” the journalist added.
Muchová himself revealed in an interview for WTA that he was very creative on the field since childhood.
“Sometimes it’s a good trick, sometimes it’s terrible, and then I’m like, ‘What am I doing? I’m trying to find a balance, but I’m not thinking about it. It’s just instinct,'” he says of the pieces.
After many problems, especially with the abdominal muscles, Muchová is back on top. The Australian Open semi-finalist and two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist was already in the top 20 but she dropped out of the top 100 in July last year. Before long, it even dropped to rank 235.
Last season, he played only 23 matches, in which he lost more than half of them. This year, he’s back in the saddle, showing strength and already moving up to sixth ten in the live rankings.
But all is not rosy, health problems remain an obstacle and scarecrow. At the last tournament in Dubai, he did not start the duel he should have fought for in the semifinals.
On Monday at Indian Wells, she had to be treated during a winning fight with Italy’s Martina Trevisan. After all, the fact that she’s playing in California for the first time in her career is a true testament to her unpredictable body.
“I have to be careful with myself, injuries from the past keep coming back to me. I’m used to doing everything and that results in serious injuries. I’m stubborn, I don’t like to give up matches, I always want to play. The team I had to restrain myself a bit,” Muchová admitted.
In California, on Wednesday nights CET, he also managed a three-set play with Markéta Vondroušová. In the fourth duel of his career, he beat him for the first time and made it to the last eight. Now she faces Wimbledon champion Jelena Rybakinová.
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