Posted by Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday September 3, 2024
New York—Tennis is all about sensitivity Karolina Muchova.
As the 28-year-old Czech works his way back to form after missing nine months due to wrist surgery, it feels great.
Muchova advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open by defeating one of the most in-form players on the tour on Monday in New York. She eliminated Jasmine Paolini, 6-3, 6-3, and will face Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia by a shot in the second US Open semifinal on Wednesday.
He did it by playing his backhand tennis, full of net forays, beautiful volleys, and – in case you missed them – the most amazing shot of the US Open: a hot backhand shot that entered the first week.
It’s rare in this age of physicality and baseline grinders to see a player pull off such an artistic style on the court, but Muchova pulls it off, and wins fans over as she does.
“I’m a fan of his,” Paolini said before facing him on Monday. “He’s playing unbelievable. I really like the way he plays. He can play all shots, slice, volleys, serves and volleys. He’s a complete player, I think, a very tough player.”
Paolini probably wasn’t the biggest fan after being thwarted by the gracious Czech at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Day 8, but such is life.
“Muchova is like one of my favorite players to watch,” said Andy Roddick on his Served Podcast on Monday. “I don’t know how a ten-year-old can be so beautiful. Every time I look at her I’m like: she’s really beautiful, she’s really beautiful.”
“He might be one of the top 5 most athletic players,” replied his producer Jon Wertheim.
Listening to the Tennis Podcast this week on the 7 train into Flushing Meadows, I heard Matt Roberts compare Muchova to Suzanne Lenglen and I thought: YES! Everything but the ankle-length dress and the court liquor are there.
There is a rare beauty in Muchova’s tennis, art, creativity.
Muchova says he has to play that way, that’s the only way he can enter the game. He is not a basic striker, this is a crafty Czech.
He does everything in a spirit of humility. He does not believe that he is waving the flag in rebellion in the name of freedom. Just Muchova… Muchova.
“I don’t know if it’s different,” he said of his tennis style Monday after beating Paolini, “but yeah, I just like to change it up.” I like to do what I do, go to the net and actually play the game. Have more fun; not just grind back and play forehands/backhands.
“That’s how I see the game. That’s the way I like to play it. These are the things I like to develop in practice and put them on the court.”
It’s good to see Muchova back, and it’s great to see her succeed with the kind of experimental tennis that makes purists cringe, but it’s not always considered very efficient – or effective. It’s hard to do what Muchova does, that’s why no one plays anymore.
You try to pull a dipping, hit a 100 MPH passing shot and tell me that all tennis players should go to the net more.
Credit to Muchova for not only pulling it off, but making himself a real threat to win majors while doing so.
Before they meet in the Roland-Garros final in 2022, Iga Swiatek had this to say about Muchova.
“I really like his game, to be honest. I really respect him, and he’s a player who can do anything. He has a great touch; he can also speed up the game. He plays with that kind of…I don’t know…freedom in his movements. And you have a very good strategy. So I watched his games and I feel like I know his game very well.”
Serve-and-volley, the defunct albatross of the sport, is the domain of few visitors these days. Credit Muchova for keeping it alive. He attempted a trick on 14 percent of his service points at the US Open, the highest percentage of any other player out of 256 singles players in the main draw.
And, he won by 86 percent of those points.
Credit Muchova for making 2024 the new 1924 – long live art, feeling and touch.
