London, July 5 (IANS) Karolína Muchová returned to the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the third time in her career after overcoming fellow Czech and former champion Barbora Krejčíková 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in a gripping fourth-round contest on Sunday, ensuring that a first-time women’s singles champion will be crowned at the All England Club this year.

Muchova, who has now made it to at least the semi-finals of every Grand Slam except Wimbledon, broke a frustrating streak of four first-round exits in London. She achieved this with a steady performance that lasted two hours and 45 minutes. This victory brought her winning streak to eight matches after her title win at the Bad Homburg Open and set up a quarter-final match against either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

The opening set was hard-fought. Both players saved multiple break points before Muchova finally made her move in the 12th game. She converted her first set point to take the lead 7-5.

The 28-year-old looked poised for an easy win when she broke serve in the sixth game of the second set, taking a strong 5-2 lead. However, Krejcikova, one of the few players who can match Muchova’s variety and touch, made a determined comeback. After coming within two points of defeat several times, the 2024 Wimbledon champion won five straight games. She took the second set 7-5 and forced a deciding set.

Muchova quickly responded in the final set. After the score was tied at 1-1, she dominated the next three games, allowing only a single point as she raced to a 4-1 lead. Krejcikova appeared to struggle physically in the closing stages. Muchova kept her cool and served out the match to secure her spot in the last eight.

Playing on Court 2, Muchova displayed the all-around game that has made her a top threat on grass. She won 23 of her 31 approaches to the net, achieving a success rate of 74%, while Krejcikova won 18 of her 33 net points.

The statistics highlighted Muchova’s dominance. The Czech hit 50 winners and made just 29 unforced errors. Krejcikova scored 24 winners but was hindered by 32 unforced errors.

This was their first meeting on the WTA Tour, and the result ties their overall head-to-head, including ITF events, at 2-2.

Muchova’s latest win also extended another impressive streak, as she has now won 11 straight WTA Tour-level matches against other Czech players.

–IANS

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