Karolina Muchova Reaches First Wimbledon Semi-Final, Defeating Naomi Osaka

A place in her first Wimbledon semi-final within touching distance, Karolina Muchova walked up to the No 1 Court baseline charged with the task of closing out a near flawless performance. There was plenty of tension and uncertainty swirling through her mind, but Muchova managed to keep a clear head as she spectacularly ended her incredible day with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory against the 14th seed Naomi Osaka.

Muchova, the Czech 10th seed, had opened her final service game with an unreturned serve and she ended it with two aces to finish the match. Osaka did not stand a chance.

This was a supreme performance from Muchova, who thoroughly outserved one of the very best servers in the world. She landed 69% of her first serves, winning 80% of points behind it, with 44% of her first serves unreturned.

“It’s unbelievable. I’m super happy with today’s win. I played three times on this court and it was 0-3 so I was a little bit not in a good relationship with this court, but I’m super happy. We finally made it today and I got that win,” she said.

At 29, Muchova has now reached the semi-finals of all four grand slam tournaments and this will be her fifth major semi-final. The only surprise is that it has taken her so long to reach this stage at Wimbledon, considering her wizardry on grass, the surface that truly unlocks her variety and creativity.

Her first big breakthrough, after all, came on these courts seven years ago when she reached the quarter-finals in 2019 after a ridiculous win against the then No 3 seed Karolina Pliskova, which ended 13-11 in the final set. There has never been any doubt about her capability to compete against the best for the biggest titles, but for so long her body would not permit it. There was always another injury to contend with, another physical problem keeping her off the court.

Last year, when she lost in the first round here, Muchova had been reduced to slicing the vast majority of her backhands due to the left wrist injury that had robbed her of her two-handed backhand. She has finally enjoyed an extended injury-free stretch, and as a result of the momentum she has built, she is firmly in contention for her first grand slam title. “I’m appreciating definitely more the time that I’m here, that I can play, that I don’t have these big issues that I had in the past,” she said.

“I’m also happy that I now am like selling my game, I would say, and that I can use it. I’m healthy, which I don’t like to say – touch wood – I would say I’m more appreciative and enjoying the moment that I’m here, I can play, all that.”

She faces a fascinating encounter against Coco Gauff, the seventh seed, in the semi-final. Gauff dominated their head-to-head, winning their first six matches, but Muchova finally won her first match against the American in Stuttgart three months ago. Grass offers Muchova the surface advantage, but she must overturn a historically difficult match-up.

Backing up a monumental victory can often be more difficult than the win itself and a fatigued Osaka played with none of the freedom she exhibited throughout her performances in the first week, and particularly in her fourth-round defeat of the world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Osaka was erratic off the ground, particularly with her forehand, which crumbled in the first-set tie-break. Towards the end of the match, her serve also betrayed her. She struck two double faults at 4-4 in set two to hand over the decisive break.

Considering the level she was performing at in the build up to this match, Osaka’s performance was a letdown and an enormous opportunity missed in her attempt to follow up the four grand-slam titles she won between 2018 and 2021 with another genuine run at a major. Still, this tournament represents great progress. She will soon move to the US hard-court swing, her favourite surface.

Osaka compared this result to her semi-final run at the US Open last year, where she could do nothing but applaud the level exhibited by Amanda Anisimova in her defeat.

“This one is a little more upsetting to me because I feel like there was so much more I could have done. I think maybe I should find the positive in that because I’ve gotten to the quarters and I feel like I can still improve so much as a player,” she said. “In my head I think there’s still an opportunity to win a slam.”