The Czech Karolina Muchova (N.10 in the world) became, on Sunday, the first player to qualify for the quarter-finals of the US Open tennis, at the expense of the Chinese Xinyu Wang (N.53), 6-3 , 5-7, 6-1.
The recent Roland-Garros finalist struggled to win, losing serve six times and committing 37 unforced errors.
Lack of rhythm, errors, service efficiency problem, Muchova took more than two sets to find her game. She was jostled by the high-risk tennis of Wang (21), who also committed a lot unforced errors (42).
Muchova forced fate on a few important shots and part of the difference was made at the net (9 points won). The Czech proved to be sharper than her opponent, especially on a backhand volley which allowed her to win the first set.
The tenth player in the world, the best ranking of her career, also took the lead in return of service (57% of points earned on opposing engagement). “In the third set, I found my game, with more slices and changes of pace,” Muchova said after the match.
In the quarter-finals, the Czech will face the winner of the match between the Romanian Sorana Cirstea (N.30) and the Swiss Belinda Bencic (N.13).
