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Coco Gauff’s best-ever run at Wimbledon is over. Gauff fought valiantly, recovering from a tough first set, but couldn’t outlast Karolina Muchova in the tiebreak.
With the win, Muchova heads to the Wimbledon final for the first time in her career.
Gauff appeared off her game early. While she took the first game, Gauff dropped the second and was broken by Muchova in the third. Gauff looked to be in a better spot in the fourth game, but lost fourth straight points to give Muchova an early 3-1 lead in the set. Missed shots affected Gauff in the next game, which Muchova won quickly.
The sixth game of the first set looked like it could be the start of a turnaround for Gauff, who scored the first three points to go up 40-0. But Gauff couldn’t close it out. Muchova won the next five points, winning the game take a commanding 5-1 lead in the first set. Gauff once again had trouble closing out the next game. Despite reaching game point first, Gauff again allowed Muchova to claw her way back. This time around, though, Gauff showed resilience, finally holding off a Muchova comeback to make it 5-2 in the set.
But Gauff’s rally couldn’t last. Muchova was able to close out the set in the next game, winning the set 6-2. Gauff’s 12 unforced errors played a decent role in her giving up the set. But if there was reason for hope, Muchova struggled in the set to get her first serve in. If Gauff could play a cleaner match going forward, it was possible she could turn things around.
Right off the bat, Gauff looked improved to start the second set. She notched two aces during the first game, taking an early 1-0 lead. They were her first aces of the day. Muchova managed to take the next game, but not after a late rally from Gauff. Though the set was tied, Gauff was already looking much better compared to her first set performance.
She capitalized on that in the next game, preventing Muchova from taking a single point. Gauff jumped out to an early lead in the next game, taking a 40-0 lead. But break point proved to once again be difficult for Gauff, who dropped the next two points to go 0-for-8 on her break-point attempts. But her struggles ended there, as Gauff finally came through, taking a 3-1 lead in the set.
That seemed to turn things around for Gauff, who took the next two games to go up 5-1 in the set. Her first-set struggles seemed to be full behind her now, giving Gauff momentum with the final set on the horizon. A quick win in the next game gave Gauff the set. She appeared to be fully in control now.
That momentum was halted somewhat at the start of the final set. Gauff didn’t score a single point in the first game and then nearly allowed Muchova to come all the way back in the second game before evening things 1-1. After Muchova easily took the third game, Gauff was nearly broken in the fourth before recovering in time to win it.
The pair traded the next four games, keeping the final set tied 4-4. The ninth game gave Gauff a chance to pull ahead, and while she came close, she couldn’t break Muchova. With the win, Muchova now sat a game away from the match victory. Gauff took the serve looking to keep things tied up. Gauff held serve and it certainly looked like the first player to break their opponent would win the match.
That didn’t happen in the 11th game. Muchova stayed ahead 6-5, sending the serve back to Gauff. But the American held serve, sending the match to a tiebreak. If there was any hope for Gauff, Muchova was spotted holding her side and stretching in the final set, a sign fatigue was starting to set in.
That didn’t appear to be the case early in the tiebreak, as Muchova jumped out to a 4-1 start. With her back against the wall, Gauff bounced back to cut the deficit to 4-3. After going up 6-3, Muchova appeared in control. Gauff again cut into the lead, making it 6-5 and setting up Muchova to potentially win the tiebreak with her next serve.
But Gauff rallied again, pushing it to 6-6 in the tiebreak. At this point, both players refused to give in. Despite each player being at match point multiple times, the tiebreak extended to 10-10.
Muchova took the 11-10 lead before turning it back over to Gauff for two serves. Finally, Muchova ended it, winning the tiebreak 12-10 and taking the set, and the match.
This story will be updated.
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With the win, Muchova heads to the Wimbledon final for the first time in her career.
Gauff appeared off her game early. While she took the first game, Gauff dropped the second and was broken by Muchova in the third. Gauff looked to be in a better spot in the fourth game, but lost fourth straight points to give Muchova an early 3-1 lead in the set. Missed shots affected Gauff in the next game, which Muchova won quickly.
The sixth game of the first set looked like it could be the start of a turnaround for Gauff, who scored the first three points to go up 40-0. But Gauff couldn’t close it out. Muchova won the next five points, winning the game take a commanding 5-1 lead in the first set. Gauff once again had trouble closing out the next game. Despite reaching game point first, Gauff again allowed Muchova to claw her way back. This time around, though, Gauff showed resilience, finally holding off a Muchova comeback to make it 5-2 in the set.
But Gauff’s rally couldn’t last. Muchova was able to close out the set in the next game, winning the set 6-2. Gauff’s 12 unforced errors played a decent role in her giving up the set. But if there was reason for hope, Muchova struggled in the set to get her first serve in. If Gauff could play a cleaner match going forward, it was possible she could turn things around.
Right off the bat, Gauff looked improved to start the second set. She notched two aces during the first game, taking an early 1-0 lead. They were her first aces of the day. Muchova managed to take the next game, but not after a late rally from Gauff. Though the set was tied, Gauff was already looking much better compared to her first set performance.
She capitalized on that in the next game, preventing Muchova from taking a single point. Gauff jumped out to an early lead in the next game, taking a 40-0 lead. But break point proved to once again be difficult for Gauff, who dropped the next two points to go 0-for-8 on her break-point attempts. But her struggles ended there, as Gauff finally came through, taking a 3-1 lead in the set.
That seemed to turn things around for Gauff, who took the next two games to go up 5-1 in the set. Her first-set struggles seemed to be full behind her now, giving Gauff momentum with the final set on the horizon. A quick win in the next game gave Gauff the set. She appeared to be fully in control now.
That momentum was halted somewhat at the start of the final set. Gauff didn’t score a single point in the first game and then nearly allowed Muchova to come all the way back in the second game before evening things 1-1. After Muchova easily took the third game, Gauff was nearly broken in the fourth before recovering in time to win it.
The pair traded the next four games, keeping the final set tied 4-4. The ninth game gave Gauff a chance to pull ahead, and while she came close, she couldn’t break Muchova. With the win, Muchova now sat a game away from the match victory. Gauff took the serve looking to keep things tied up. Gauff held serve and it certainly looked like the first player to break their opponent would win the match.
That didn’t happen in the 11th game. Muchova stayed ahead 6-5, sending the serve back to Gauff. But the American held serve, sending the match to a tiebreak. If there was any hope for Gauff, Muchova was spotted holding her side and stretching in the final set, a sign fatigue was starting to set in.
That didn’t appear to be the case early in the tiebreak, as Muchova jumped out to a 4-1 start. With her back against the wall, Gauff bounced back to cut the deficit to 4-3. After going up 6-3, Muchova appeared in control. Gauff again cut into the lead, making it 6-5 and setting up Muchova to potentially win the tiebreak with her next serve.
But Gauff rallied again, pushing it to 6-6 in the tiebreak. At this point, both players refused to give in. Despite each player being at match point multiple times, the tiebreak extended to 10-10.
Muchova took the 11-10 lead before turning it back over to Gauff for two serves. Finally, Muchova ended it, winning the tiebreak 12-10 and taking the set, and the match.
This story will be updated.
Continue reading...
