(Tennis news) Muchova advanced to the fourth round by defeating Storm Hunter, Magdalena Frech, and Taylor Townsend in straight sets. To advance to the final eight, she then competed against Wang Xinyu.
Muchova scored first in the first set to take a 2-1 lead, but Wang broke back right away to tie the match. The former won the subsequent three games to take a 5-2 lead. Although the Czech was unable to win the set on her own serve, she did so by breaking the serve of her rival in the following game.
Five serve breaks in a row opened the second set, and Wang eventually had the upper hand to take the lead and led 3-2. The Chinese won the final three games of the set to win it despite Muchova managing to regain serve further down the line.
Muchova won the match 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 in the third set, which was quite one-sided and had just one point lost. For the first time, she has now advanced to this tournament’s quarterfinals.
Cirstea advanced to the fourth round and faced Belinda Bencic after winning matches against Kayla Day, Anna Kalinskaya, and Elena Rybakina. As she sprinted to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, the Romanian got off to a quick start.
Bencic won the following three games to make it 5-3 as she made an effort to get back into the game. Cirstea, though, was able to finish the set on her second attempt.
The second period saw Cirstea score first to take a 3-1 advantage. As of the sixth game, neither player could maintain serve. The Romanian, however, was able to win the match 6-3, 6-3 thanks to an early edge.
Head-to-Head
In the head-to-head matchup, Muchova is up 3-1 on Cirstea. At the 2023 Canadian Open, the Czech defeated the opponent in a 3-0 victory.
Predictions
Following her triumph over Bencic at the 2009 French Open, Cirstea advanced to her first Major quarterfinal. This tournament, she has been on a giant-killing rampage and thus far, she has taken out some impressive foes. When she plays the World No. 10 in the following round, she will try to accomplish the same.
In her match with Wang, Muchova’s performance was inconsistent. By a fair margin, her serve failed her. It was broken six times, she committed seven double faults, and only won 64% of her first serve points. The Czech executed a shrewd game in terms of strategy to eliminate Wang despite Wang’s erratic serve.
Cirstea’s baseline-focused approach might make it difficult for her to outsmart Muchova. She won’t be able to establish a rhythm to direct the play if she does the latter. The Czech may ultimately triumph because she has more experience than other players at this Majors stage.
Karolina Muchova to win in 3 sets.
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