French Open

She did not play a single match on grass. After a fabulous, but exhausting and health-risking ride to the Roland Garros clay final, Karolína Muchová had to combine regeneration with honest training. Her form is largely unknown, yet she is being talked about as one of the favorites ahead of Wimbledon.

The fascination with Karolína Muchová does not just fade away. During the current season, but understandably especially in Paris, she left a strong impression that remains in the tennis environment. Despite the fact that the Czech Republic has not been seen in recent weeks.

Muchová will arrive at Wimbledon without a single match played on a specific natural surface. After Roland Garros, she preferred to finish the treatment of the disease and gradually return to a full training load.

“Obviously, when you’re in the finals, you’re at risk of a certain decline in the next tournaments. But with the way Muchová plays, I don’t see a single reason why she wouldn’t play spectacular tennis on grass. I just can’t even imagine it,” said Briton John Lloyd, one of the many recent admirers of the Olomouc native.

According to him, Muchová has a great chance to shine in London after Paris.

“I think she’s able to transition very smoothly from one surface to another. I definitely rank her as one of the top two or three favorites for Wimbledon,” Lloyd said.

While he doesn’t have much faith in the Polish world number one Iza Šwiateková due to her failures on grass from previous years, he ranks the defending champion Jelena Rybakinová from Kazakhstan and the Belarusian shot putter and the best player of the season Aryna Sabalenková from Belarus among her favorites.

However, the most prominent figure in the history of British tennis is looking forward to the Czech Republic. After all, he’s been writing poems about her since the French Open, where she completely charmed him.

“Muchová is a player… a sensational player,” he gushed in an interview with the Tennis Channel. “The way he maneuvers the racket on the court, the way he can play with variety and change the rhythm of the game. I love it,” added the 68-year-old 1977 Australian Open finalist.

“I am convinced that this is only the first of her great successes. Nothing one-off. I consider her to be a hugely important addition to the top of women’s tennis,” said Lloyd, calling the Roland Garros semifinal between Muchova and Sabalenkova one of the best women’s duels in recent years.

“An absolutely exceptional match. And the final against Šwiatek was not far behind,” he declared.

Karolína Muchová will play the role of seeded sixteen at Wimbledon, her first opponent will be decided by Friday morning’s draw in London.

There can be no doubt that the grass surface suits her game. After all, during her first two participations in the main Wimbledon competition, she reached the quarterfinals in 2019 and 2021.

“When I started with her in 2017, I claimed that she would be the best on grass. Her game is definitely suited to that surface,” said Muchová’s coach Emil Miške recently.

This is also why other world tennis personalities agree with John Lloyd.

The basic premise is simple: if Muchová was able to reach a Grand Slam final with her creative play on clay, her least favorite surface, she can be even more dangerous on grass.

“She’s extremely talented. We saw that in Paris. She comes to the net, she has a hard serve, she slices, she shortens her game. And she’s played well at Wimbledon in the past. We’ll see how she matches her success at the French Open, but on grass she can definitely be great,” commented former player and Eurosport presenter Barbara Schettová about Muchová’s chances.

Boris Becker, the youngest winner in the history of Wimbledon, where he triumphed in 1985 at the age of seventeen, had a similar opinion about Muchová. And also famous trainer Rennae Stubbs.

“Wimbledon will be great. I think Jelena Rybakinová and Aryna Sabalenková will have the best chance, they are the two best players on grass. Then of course Iga. But I really think that Karolína Muchová will be a real fear for everyone,” said the former coach of Serena Williams or Karolíny Plíšková and winner of four Grand Slams in doubles.

2023-06-29 15:06:34
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