Karolina Muchova suddenly stopped her service motion when she was trailing in first set by 1-4, she seemed to be clearly shaken. Filing back tears, she pointed toward the stands before walking back to her towel, where she attempted to compose herself. After a brief aside to the chair umpire, the 29-year-old composed herself and continued with quiet determination. The reason behind her sudden break down wasn’t apparent at first, but during an emotional press conference afterwards, Muchova described what had prompted the outburst.
“Well it wasn’t tennis-related,” Karolina admitted as she opened up about her break down
“Opposite my bench, my ex-boyfriend sat down. He sometimes shows up at places where he shouldn’t be. That startled me a bit. I told him to leave. He didn’t at first, but later he did go. It was hard to focus in that moment.”
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Although interrupted, she remained incredibly calm, fighting her way back to claim a tightly contested three-set win 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 just days after securing her first-round victory over Venus Williams.
When she went back to court two days later and defeated fellow Czech Linda Noskova in the third round, Muchova spoke out about the incident once more, this time with serenity and poise. Although WTA and US Open regulations permit players to block people from receiving tickets or credentials for security purposes, reports stated that Muchova did not decide to take such measures, even after the ordeal she had suffered.
What has impressed more than anything, though, has been her tennis. Instead of allowing the incident sabotage her campaign, Muchova has lifted her game with each match. Against Noskova, she fell behind in a close first-set tiebreak but adapted magnificently, taking control of the next two sets to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Her fourth-round encounter with Marta Kostyuk produced another gruff contest: Muchova took the first 6-3, faltered in the second-set tiebreak, but again found ways to dig deep in the third, roaring through 6-3. It was the sort of display that demonstrated her steel, her guile, and her capacity for taking the biggest of points attributes which now have her through to the quarter-finals.
