Karolina Muchova finally breaks her Centre Court Curse
Karolina Muchova reached her first Wimbledon semifinal after defeating Naomi Osaka 7-6, 6-4.
The Czech star extended her winning streak to nine consecutive matches, producing another impressive performance to book her place in the last four.
After the match, Muchova laughed when told she looked calm throughout the contest.
“Oh my God, I was nervous.”
She praised Osaka’s ability to punish even the smallest mistakes.
“She’s an unbelievable athlete. You can’t lose that focus. You have to keep playing every point. If you give her a little chance, she takes it.”
Muchova also admitted she had never enjoyed playing on Centre Court before the breakthrough.
“I don’t know if you guys know, but I played three times on this court and it was 0-3, so I wasn’t in a very good relationship with this court.”
That finally changed with her biggest Wimbledon win yet.
“I’m super happy we finally made it today and I got that win in front of you all.”
The victory sends Muchova into her first Wimbledon semifinal and her first Grand Slam semifinal in two years.
She will now face Coco Gauff for a place in the Wimbledon final. Although Gauff leads their head-to-head 6-1, Muchova won their most recent meeting in Stuttgart earlier this year. The semifinal will also be the first time they have faced each other on grass.
