Karolína Muchová beats Coco Gauff to end six-match losing streak against the American
After two hours and 24 minutes of creative shot-making, characteristically impressive defense and some clutch serving for good measure, Karolina Muchová earned her first win against Coco Gauff 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 Friday, on the Stuttgart Tennis Grand Prix’s indoor red clay. With the win in Germany, Muchová broke a streak of six consecutive losses to Gauff, including a 6-1, 6-1 loss at the Miami Open just over three weeks ago. Muchová had only won one set in those six matches, but with that record stacked against her, the Czech put history out of her mind ahead of Friday’s contest.
After all, the pair had never met on her favorite surface. “She’s obviously one of the best athletes, one of the best tennis players. … So I’m just really glad I pulled out the first win against Coco.
I’m just so happy that I finally beat her,” Muchová said during her on-court interview. “This was actually our first match on a clay court, so on the clay we were 0-0 in our matches. I tried to keep it positive and take advantage of this surface, play my game and then it was really, again, as I said in the match before, it’s a thin line.
It’s just so tough to play against these top players. You just never know. ” Muchová was the more consistent of the two Friday, and advances to face Elina Svitolina in the semifinals, while Gauff exited the WTA 500 tournament at the quarterfinal stage for the third year in a row.
A low-energy first set put Gauff in an early deficit before she regrouped and upped her level for the second. Asking often for more noise from Gavin MacMillan and Jean-Christophe Faurel in her coaching box, Gauff steadied her serve and started accelerating through her forehand, seeming to discombobulate Muchová. The American’s previous wins have been built on hitting her forehand into Muchová’s backhand with heavy spin, trying to create a backhand-to-backhand rally in her favor.