Karolina Muchova beat Coco Gauff for the first time to advance to the semifinals of the Stuttgart Open.

Muchova broke through on her seventh try, beating Gauff 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in their first-ever meeting on clay. Up until this match, all of their contests had come on hard courts.

Gauff had dominated their head-to-head up to that point, holding a 6-0 record and dropping just one set along the way.

Muchova’s win came after returning from an eight-month injury layoff. This was just her fifth tournament back and only her third match of the season.

Asked what made the difference this time compared to their previous meetings, she pointed to her improved movement as a key factor.

Karolina Muchova shares her thoughts on beating Coco Gauff

Speaking after the match, Muchova reflected on their first clay meeting and praised Gauff’s abilities on the surface.

“We’ve never played before. But I think she’s an unbelievable player on clay, like, I feel her last-year clay season, Roland Garros champion, just incredible mover,” she said.

“So I just knew that I have to play really well to get a chance to win. I just tried to play my game as well.

“As I mentioned, I tried to slice it up, break her rhythm, and yeah, it was working today.”

This result sets up a semifinal clash with Elina Svitolina. Muchova has yet to beat the Ukrainian in their previous three encounters.

Karolina Muchova discusses her clay-court background

When asked if sliding effectively on clay was something she had to learn, Muchova responded: “Not really, to be honest. But obviously, I’m from Europe, from the Czech Republic. I was growing up on the clay court, so the surface is familiar to me.

“I just like it, you know. I like going from hard court to the clay as well. I kind of enjoy every specific of any surface, and I like clay.

“Yeah, just getting used to it and match by match, I’m better and better timing-wise and sliding and all that.”

Statistically speaking, clay is one of Muchova’s strongest surfaces. The 29-year-old has a win percentage of 65% on clay compared to 69% on hard courts and 52% on grass.

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