Muchova saves match point to reach first Wimbledon final

Karolina Muchova reached her first Wimbledon final by defeating Coco Gauff 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) in a semifinal decided by a tense match tie-break, AFP and Reuters reported. The result puts the 10th-seeded Czech into an all-Czech final against Linda Noskova and ends Gauff’s attempt to reach her first title match at the All England Club.

AFP and Reuters reported that Muchova, who has had multiple recent surgeries, saved a match point before closing out the seventh-seeded American after two hours and 35 minutes. Gauff had match point at 9-8 in the deciding tie-break, but her attempted drop shot failed to clear the net.

Muchova had led the tie-break 4-1 and later 6-3 before Gauff pushed ahead, according to AFP and Reuters. The Czech then created her own chance with a lob and sealed victory on her second match point when Gauff put a forehand into the net.

All-Czech final set

Noskova beat Marta Kostyuk in the other women’s semifinal, AFP and Reuters reported, setting up the first all-Czech women’s final at a Grand Slam. The winner will ensure a Czech champion at Wimbledon for the third time in four years, after Marketa Vondrousova’s 2023 title and Barbora Krejcikova’s 2024 win.

Muchova told the Centre Court crowd the match had been difficult to process immediately after it ended. “It was such a big fight,” she said, describing the final stretch as a “rollercoaster” in which the lead changed quickly.

The agencies reported that Muchova used a varied grass-court game to take control of the opening set. She broke Gauff in the third and fifth games, then served a 179km/h ace to finish the set.

Gauff responded in the second after failing to convert her first eight break-point chances, AFP and Reuters reported. She broke on her ninth opportunity for a 3-1 lead, broke again for 5-1 and then served out the set to force a decider.

The third set tightened as both players hit through rallies from the baseline, according to AFP and Reuters. Gauff had two chances to break for 5-4, but Muchova held, and the match moved to the tie-break that decided the semifinal.

Gauff says loss will be hard to digest

Gauff said afterward that the defeat would stay with her because of how close she came, AFP and Reuters reported. “Definitely going to think about the second, third, last point,” she said, adding that she had “left it all out there.”

The 22-year-old, a two-time Grand Slam champion, also said she expected abusive online messages after missing match point, according to the agencies. Gauff linked some of that abuse to angry bettors and said similar messages had become routine for players.

AFP and Reuters reported that tennis authorities have sought to address the problem. In January 2024, governing bodies introduced an AI tool called Threat Matrix to monitor abuse directed at players on social media.

The WTA and ITF later said analysts verified about 8,000 messages in 2024 as abusive, violent or threatening, AFP and Reuters reported. Those bodies said angry gamblers were increasingly targeting players.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.