US OPEN

September 4, 2024

Karolina Muchova

Press Conference

K. MUCHOVA/B. Haddad Maia

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Karolina, if you would, your thoughts on the win.

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Hello. Thoughts on the win.

Very weird match, weird dynamic of the match. Very tough, as every match here. I think I played good in the key points, meaning when I had a breakpoint or I was serving for a game, I always pull out good shot, I think.

Yeah, I'm happy that I managed it in two sets again.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Obviously up to you how much you want to share, but I just wondered if there was anything about what was going on physically in the second set that you would feel comfortable sharing or whether it's a concern for tomorrow evening.

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I'm fighting bug a little bit. I'm a little sick. I hope it didn't disturb anyone. It never happened to me before, but I really needed to go off the court when I get a chance to go. Again, I hope it didn't disturb her, didn't disturb the people.

But I actually don't do these things, I don't like to do it, but I had no other choice than to take, yeah, use a bathroom. That's it.

Q. You have struggled a lot with injuries. Can you talk about how difficult it is to have to rebuild your game and come back. Is it more of a mental thing or a physical thing? Also, did you speak with Dominic Thiem about his wrist problems?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Injuries, I don't even like to talk about injuries, but yeah, depends what kind of injury. I've been through a lot of them. Yeah, this last one, the wrist surgery, was one of the most, one of the worst ones that I had.

Yeah, now looking back, I'm, like, oh, it actually flew by, the time, and I feel strong again. But when I go back to February I have to say I wasn't always that positive. It was tough moments honestly when I couldn't move the arm and couldn't do much.

But, yeah, it's few bad days, and then I always try to just regroup and focus on the step that I could do, what's the first step I can do towards recovery. I had really great team of doctors around me and my team who is with me all the time supporting me. We worked a lot. And through every injury, we always stick together and work on it to get healthy again and be able to play.

I'm now just very grateful for all those people that always have my back, and yeah, that I'm here playing pain-free.

Q. Did you speak with Dominic Thiem?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Oh, never.

Q. You only got obviously ten matches or so coming in here. Is your game where it was last year when you got to this same round at the US Open?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Tough to say. I don't know. I didn't even look at the matches how I played last year. I felt really good here playing. But before quarterfinals last year, I got injured with the wrist, which is now good. So it's a little different, I would say. I feel pretty fit besides that I'm a little bit sick. But the body is fine.

So the game-wise, I think every match here I feel better on court and that for sure helps. More matches and getting through that experience on the court again, that helps a lot as well to be more confident and feel my shots.

So I would say tough to compare. I would say probably, yeah, maybe similar how I played last year. I for sure still have a big gap that, like, the stuff that I can improve, that's what I feel like, but yeah, I think I'm doing, it's okay (smiling).

Q. When you get on these rolls, whether in Paris last year or here last year or now, what is it about your game that you start to feel that signals to you that, okay, I'm doing what I want to be doing and I'm at the level where I can really go far in this tournament?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: I'd say it's the feeling and it's as well the confidence when I hit, basically when I'm aggressive on the court and hitting winners down the line, going to the net when I feel confident to do that. When I started to win those points, they kind of, yeah, gives me the good feeling on the court, and then I trust my shots and I would say then it kind of creates my game.

Q. You could play Iga or Jess obviously in the next round. If it is Iga, for example, I know you guys practiced before the tournament. She was quite supportive of you coming back, also on social media and stuff. What is it about both of your guys' games that kind of creates these interesting matchups and what would you make of facing her if you do?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Against Iga? It was very nice. She really supported me when I got the surgery. It's always nice to get that support, especially from her being World No. 1, I think, the best player that there is.

Yeah, I kind of feel like, you know, we know each other since, I don't know, it was maybe one of hers and one of my first WTA tournaments in Prague that we played first time that we met there, and then we played few matchups as well in the COVID in Prague, and then we practiced last year in Warsaw I came to, so I would say little connection there, and we always had great practices, it's very intense. It's nice.

Yeah, I mean, she's World No. 1. It's always challenge to play her, to practice with her. They're a nice team. That's just cool.

Q. To watch you play, to see what kind of athlete you are, it seems like the injuries and just getting sick this week seems like a lot of bad luck. Curious how you deal with the frustration of bad luck? Is it positive thinking, is it having a plan, it is a sense of humor? How do you get through it?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: I think I'm kind of used to it, never to that what I was going through today. Yeah, I was struggling a little bit, but we all struggle sometimes with some things, so I was just trying to do all I could on the court to feel better, to ask for some pills, some help.

Yeah, I just tried to use all I could, as well. I tried to play shorter points. Yeah, just took it in a way -- it's written here on the court, like, you know, Ashe's thing, I don't know how it is -- do what you can with all you have today or something like that. So I was keeping that in mind.

Q. We didn't cover the possibility of facing Jess. If you are to face Jess, what do you look back on from having played her before? What do you make of playing her now and the challenge ahead?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Yeah, she's playing unbelievable. Toronto title and then finals in Cincinnati. I mean, she's on fire, obviously having great confidence playing this deep in the tournaments week by week, here as well.

We played, yeah, on the parking lot in Cincinnati. That was tough battle. A little bit different conditions, I would say. It was very tough to play there, but she's just great player, playing very deep in the court, good mover. She didn't give me one point for free, so very, yeah, very tough battle.