Renew: 04/06/2023 20:13
Issued by: 04/06/2023, 20:13

Paris – After a long period of health problems, tennis player Karolína Muchová is back to enjoying the Grand Slams like she imagined. After today’s win over Russian Elina Avanesyanova (6:4, 6:3), she made it to the Roland Garros quarter-finals for the first time and is still feeling better. In an interview with reporters, he said he had been recovering from a cold the past few days and hoped his health would keep him going.

“It’s great that I still believed that I would be able to come back. And it’s also great that I did it on clay in Paris,” said Muchová. “Since the start of the season, I feel that I am getting into it and my game is gradually improving. Overall, I feel more comfortable on the court, more confident and I am becoming a better player. Recently, my health has been declining too. , so I can support me in training. The team around me is also great. Everyone is working and I’m happy that I’m on a good track now.”

The 26-year-old Olomouc native set up the match against the Russian six years his junior in one hour and 39 minutes. She advanced to her fourth Grand Slam quarter-final, her first since Wimbledon 2021. “It was a tough match. I tried to be aggressive again and throw shots. I didn’t know my opponent that well but I felt like he was improving as the match went on and put more balls back. It seemed as soon as I gave him space he would take advantage of it. He chased me from corner to corner, so it was a challenging match, even considering the heat . I’m happy to finally pull it off in two sets,” added player 1. ČLTK That Prague.

One of his main tactics is to exploit the opponent’s weak serve. In the match, Muchová won seven breaks out of ten on his return. He played 31 winning shots against sixteen opponents. Lastly, he used the fifth match point. “I know she has a slightly slower serve. Especially her second one. I wanted to do it and I knew that I would have a chance to return. I’m of course happy that I did well at 5:3, because then I was going to be fighting the sun, which very unpleasant,” he explained.

In post-match interviews, he also drew praise from former world number 17 Fabrice Santoro. The 2006 Australian Open quarter-finalist particularly praised the Czech player’s variable play. “It’s not that I watched his matches, but I definitely know him. I know some of his strikes and he’s a very skilled player. Every compliment from an icon like that always pleases me. He had fun with me even before the interview and was really good,” explains Muchová.

The 43rd player in the world ranking, even compared to Friday’s 3rd round duel with Romanian Irina-Camelia Beguova, returned her voice after catching a cold. “It’s getting better every day. I had the day off yesterday, so I rested a bit, relaxed and I’m definitely better now,” assured Muchová.

In a fight for the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career, she will face Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. So far, he has played three matches with the thirty-one year old Roland Garros finalist from 2021 with a 1:2 record. He played with him on clay only two years ago in Madrid, where he lost twice 6:7. “He is a very good player, skilled and has a lot of strengths. I think it will be a great match. I will have to play my best tennis to match him,” Muchová added.

Muchová French Open tennis