Karolina Muchova recovered from a 1-6 first set to beat Clara Tauson 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the Bad Homburg quarterfinal on Thursday. The No. 4 seed needed just over two hours to finish the comeback and reach her first Tour-level grass-court semifinal.
Bad Homburg quarterfinal
Muchova said she had to reset after the opening set. “I started a little bit slow,” she said, then added, “She was playing fast, playing some good balls. I think I was a little bit more passive, I would say. And then I just turned it around.”
The change came in the middle set, where Muchova took control long enough to force a decider. She hit only two winners in the 29-minute first set, then struck 35 of her 37 winners across the final two sets.
Muchova and Clara Tauson
The numbers still showed how close the match stayed. Muchova and Clara Tauson both broke serve five times, and Tauson finished with more total points, 82 to 79, even though Muchova closed it out with an ace after serving for the match a second time at 5-4 in the final set.
Muchova won 72% of her first-serve points, while Tauson won 73%. Both players won 37% of their second-serve points. Muchova converted both break points she earned in the final set; Tauson converted one of three break points in the same set.
Fahrenheit and the heat rule
Temperatures reached 96 degrees Fahrenheit, and the heat rule was triggered before the third set. Both players were given a break before they came back to finish the match, which added another layer to a day that already had the scoreline working against Muchova after the first set.
That win sends Muchova into a Bad Homburg semifinal against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, who beat Emma Navarro 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Ruse earned her third straight Top 25 win and reached her second WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz semifinal of the season, setting up a matchup between two players who arrived on the same Thursday with different routes but the same reward.
