Karolina Muchova explains why she is looking forward to facing Aryna Sabalenka in the China Open quarter-final

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Karolina Muchova has lost just 12 games in her four matches leading up to the Beijing quarter-finals.

A star of the US Open, the returning Karolina Muchova has graced the WTA with exquisite touch and flair.

The 28-year-old only returned to the tour in June after a wrist injury sustained at last year’s US Open and subsequent surgery wiped her out for close to nine months.

The crafty Czech has returned in ludicrous form, carefully cultivating a terrific run to the latter stages of the last two big tournaments.

She defeated Naomi Osaka and Jasmine Paolini in New York before falling to Jessica Pegula in three sets in the semi-finals.

Now in Beijing, Muchova is faced with her toughest challenge yet since returning to the WTA Tour – Aryna Sabalenka.

Karolina Muchova insists she’s excited to face Aryna Sabalenka

A bruising win in the fourth round on Wednesday saw Muchova lose just two games to a struggling Cristina Bucsa in 69 minutes.

The world number 49 is confidently clambering back up the WTA rankings but has the biggest task of all in the last eight.

Top seed Sabalenka thumped Madison Keys in just over an hour to match her best winning streak of 15.

Speaking to the WTA, Muchova insisted she was excited to play the Australian and US Open champion.

“It’s going to be nice to get that challenge and see again, to compare my game to hers,” the former world number eight said.

“It’s what tennis is about. Where do you get more learning experience than when you challenge the best? So I’m really grateful for that opportunity.”

What is Karolina Muchova’s record against Aryna Sabalenka?

Muchova leads Sabalenka 2–1 in their head-to-head record, with the Czech victorious in their last two encounters.

A comeback victory in the 2023 Cincinnati Open semi-finals and a win at Roland Garros at the same stage has allowed the 28-year-old the bragging rights ahead of this next one.

With both of their last two having gone to three long sets, the pressure will somewhat be on Sabalenka as her streak gets threatened slightly more severely.