Karolina Muchova and Tomas Machac won their singles matches over Jasmine Paolini and Flavio Cobolli respectively in straight sets to lead Czechia into the semifinals of the United Cup in Sydney.
World number 22 Muchova dropped just four games to beat Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Paolini 6-2 6-2 giving Czechia a 1-0 lead over Italy. Muchova saved all 10 break points she faced she faced in the match.
Both players held on their serve in the first four games. Muchova converted on her fifth break point to take a 3-2 lead in the longest game of the match. The Czech lost just two games for the remainder of the match. She earned her second break in the seventh game and saved two break points in the eighth game to hold serve for 6-2.
Muchova converted her second break point in the first game of the second set and held serve at 30 to take a 2-0 lead. The Czech player held serve in a 10-minute fourth game of the second set before breaking serve at love in the fifth game to open up a 4-1 lead.
Muchova improved her record to 5-0 in her head-to-head matches against her Italian opponent. Paolini had one just set in her five matches against Muchova. Last September Muchova beat Paolini 6-3 6-1 at the US Open in their most recent meeting en route to reaching the semifinals.
“I really wanted to bring a point to the team, so I was trying to stay focused. Jasmine is an unbelievable player. It was a really tough match. I knew I had to go until the end. She had many great break points. I think I served well. I am really happy I made it”, said Muchova.
Machac cruised through his service games and broke twice in the second and sixth games before converting his third set point to close out the first set 6-1. The Czech player earned two breaks in the fifth and seventh games and served out the win on his first match point after just 54 minutes.
Czechia set up a semifinal against the USA. Kazakhstan will play against Poland in the other semifinal on Saturday in Sydney. “I think this is the highest level of tennis that I can play. I am really happy to play like this in such an important moment. I was surprised how I played great without any mistakes and I did not give him any opportunity to come back”, said Machac.
