US Open: Muchova battles past health issues, Haddad Maia to reach second straight semis

Paris, Sep 5
Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic endured a break for medical treatment on her way to booking a place in her second consecutive US Open semifinal with a 6-1, 6-4 defeat of No.22 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in 1 hour and 25 minutes in the women's singles. The Czech star also left the court on multiple occasions in the second set but kept her focus to close out a victory that marks a remarkable comeback from injury.

"A little weird match, I have to say," Muchova said in the on-court interview as quoted by the WTA tour in a report. "I had a lot of problems, I wouldn't like to comment on it. I'm happy I managed, to run to the bathroom and back. Sorry if it disturbed anyone, but I had no other choice!"

Muchova will play either No.1 seed Iga Swiatek or No.6 seed Jessica Pegula as she bids to make her second Grand Slam final following Roland Garros 2023. Swiatek has a 2-1 record against Muchova, while Pegula leads her 1-0; all of those matches went to three sets.

Muchova's run to the 2023 semifinals turned out to be the last tournament she would play for another nine months as she underwent wrist surgery. But in just her sixth event since returning to action in June and now ranked No.52, Muchova has roared into the fourth major semifinal of her career without dropping a set. She is the fourth unseeded major semifinalist of 2024, following Dayana Yastremska (Australian Open), Mirra Andreeva (Roland Garros), and Donna Vekic (Wimbledon).

The result is Muchova's fourth win in as many meetings with Haddad Maia. The pair first met in the qualifying of the 2016 Cagnes-sur-Mer ITF W100 event, which Muchova won 7-5, 6-1. She went on to triumph in both their tour-level encounters as well, in the first rounds of Ostrava 2022 and Cincinnati 2023.

The US Open is the first tour-level event at which Muchova has reached multiple semifinals. She is the first Czech woman to reach consecutive US Open semifinals since Helena Sukova in 1986-87.

The match opened with two multi-deuce tussles -- and Muchova set the tone by winning them both. Three consecutive service winners extricated her from an opening game in which she saved two break points, then she sealed her fifth break point on Haddad Maia's delivery with a powerful off forehand.

That start didn't help Haddad Maia settle. The Brazilian fell away in the first set, committing 10 unforced errors to only six winners. Though she raised her level in the second, it was Muchova who struck first, nailing a backhand winner down the line to break for 3-2.