Mucha’s chance of a lifetime. Will she play for the title?

It’s not a dream. Karolína Muchová is in the semifinals of the Australian Open and on Thursday she will play Jennifer Brady for the final. It’s a huge and unexpected opportunity. What are the Czech’s prospects in the semi-finals and what will be the key to success?

She has beaten Pliskova (ranked 6th in the world), Mertens (ranked 16th in the world) and current world number one Barty. So there is no doubt that she absolutely deserves a ticket in the top 4!

In the last 3 matches she was always clearly losing, but each time she showed tremendous mental strength and managed to turn the match to her side.

Especially against the favourite Barty, it was an incredible turnaround. She was down 1-6 and 0-2. The heat was giving her problems and she was fainting. The match seemed absolutely lost.

Yet she managed to pull out a great performance, handled the key moments better and completed an unexpected comeback. At the same time, she provided the biggest surprise of the tournament.

Now Jennifer Brady (24th in the world) awaits her. The American has already played one Grand Slam semifinal at last year’s US Open and she is definitely playable for Muchova.

If she were on the other side of the pavilion, she would now face S. Williams or Osaka, the biggest favourites of the tournament. So she was definitely lucky in that regard. The American is the odds-on favorite, but personally I see it as 50/50.

The key will be for Mucha to finally have a good opening match. Yes, she has turned the tide 3 times, but it might not be the fourth time. Her game concept should also be her advantage.

The smart play she’s showing should pay off for her opponent. After all, she plays quite aggressively, so Muchova’s unpleasant tennis could cause her considerable difficulties and bring more errors from her side.

The deciding factor for both of them will surely be how they can mentally handle the fact that they are playing for a grand slam final. Muchova has shown in previous matches that she is very mentally strong. It will be necessary for her to prove it tomorrow. There will be spectators again for the semi-finals of the tournament and that can only help the quality of the match.

Source:: WTA Tennis