Karolina Muchova faced the difficult task of playing Venus Williams at her home Grand Slam of the US Open.
The 29-year-old reached the semifinals at the Flushing Meadows two years in a row, and she made a solid start to her attempt at a third successive appearance in the last four.
Muchova was pushed hard by Venus Williams, who was playing at the US Open for the 25th time in her illustrious career.
But the WTA’s world number 13 held her nerve to complete a 6-3 2-6 6-1 win and advance to the second round.
Karolina Muchova admits feeling ‘stressed’ when playing Venus Williams at her home Grand Slam of the US Open
Karolina Muchova faced the two-time US Open champion Williams for the second time in her career.
The Czech player was up against not just a legend of the game but the raucous crowd rooting for Williams to claim another Grand Slam match win.
After dropping the second set, the crowd roared with delight as Williams looked the favourite to clinch victory. But Muchova composed herself brilliantly to storm through set three and seal a 6-3 2-6 6-1 win.
Post-match, Muchova said about the crowd: “I was stressed,” Muchova said in her on-court interview. “You guys make me stressed. No, it was an unbelievable atmosphere.
“She’s such a legend of our sport, I understand. It’s so nice to share a court with her. I’m just glad that I was lucky to win today. I just tried to block the noise, just be focused on myself. I thought I was doing a lot of mistakes.
“She hits such bombs, so I was a little bit lost in the second set and I’m happy I got collected in the third. I was just focused more on my serve and I’m glad I was able to pull it out.”
Venus Williams assesses her game after losing to Karolina Muchova at the US Open
Despite playing very few matches since the start of the decade, Williams has proved she can still compete against some of the world’s best players.
She pushed Muchova to her limit, and she expressed her enjoyment of being back on court and free of pain. After losing to Muchova, Williams told reporters how she has learnt more about her game over the time she has been back on the tennis court.
“I think I played some matches in Cincinnati and D.C. where I didn’t really understand how to control myself yet,” she said.
“So I think today was a lot better measure of, like, okay, you don’t have to hit this one as hard as you can. Play a smart shot, then go for the next one, you know.
“You never stop learning. I learned so much. I’m still learning about myself. When I think about the match I played against her in 2020, I was so uncomfortable. I wasn’t well. I was in so much pain.
“Today it’s night and day how much better I felt, so I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to play feeling better, and at that rate, have a real chance.”
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