Coco Gauff ‘panicked’ on match-point miss in drama-filled Wimbledon semifinal loss

LONDON (AP) — Coco Gauff had just the shot she was looking for.

Seven years after her breakthrough at Wimbledon, the American player was on the verge of reaching her first final at the All England Club.

All she needed to do was execute what appeared to be a manageable put-away on her first match point.

The thing is, it’s never that simple in a Grand Slam semifinal, especially toward the end of a decisive super tiebreaker on Centre Court — the sport’s most hallowed venue.

Gauff fluffed a forehand drop-shot attempt into the net and her opponent Karolina Muchova went on to see out a drama-filled tiebreaker to win 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) on Thursday.

On the match point, Gauff hit a well-placed serve down the T on the ad court and Muchova’s weak forehand return bounced before the service line — right in Gauff’s attack zone. But Muchova’s shot had some topspin on it and kicked up higher than Gauff was anticipating.

“The bounce kind of caught me off guard,” Gauff said. “I just panicked a little bit.”

After the miss, Gauff ran her non-hitting hand over her face and practiced a full-swing forehand that perhaps she would have preferred in hindsight.

“People who don’t watch tennis are going to be like, ’Why did you do that?” Gauff said. “At the end of the day, that’s the choice I made. Was it the right one in that moment? Maybe not. But then also, if I make it, everyone’s going to say how clutch of a shot that was.

“That’s just tennis. You lose some points off margins.”

A ‘roller coaster’ for Muchova

Muchova also lost a match point before she came out on top when Gauff hit a forehand into the net.

“It was such a big fight,” Muchova said. “It was a roller coaster.”

Muchova will meet Linda Noskova in an all-Czech final on Saturday after Noskova beat Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-4, 6-4.

Clearly flustered after her miss, Gauff called for a ball to serve again before she realized it was time to change ends since it was 9-9.

“I’m going to think about it tonight,” Gauff said.

“I look at Roger (Federer, in the 2019 final) lost match points here, Jannik (Sinner) obviously at Roland Garros (in last year’s final). Every great champion has this happen in their career,” Gauff added. “Maybe this is something I need to be on their level.”

Tracy Austin suggested on the BBC that Gauff looked like “she changed her mind three times as to where to hit that ball.”

But Gauff said, “Honestly, I didn’t change my mind too much. I feel like if I had to do it over, I probably would have gone for a slice forehand down the line.

“It’s a learning experience,” Gauff added. “I know I can do better and improve on that, and going with a higher-margin shot in a pressure moment, for sure.”

Diving like Boris Becker

On the point after Gauff’s miss, Muchova produced a lob winner to set up her first match point, which she lost when she slipped to the grass and a passing shot from Gauff sailed by her.

But Muchova quickly set up another match point and produced a series of shots to the corners. Gauff, on the full run, reached the last ball but her forehand response landed in the net and Muchova covered her hands in disbelief.

“You’re up and down in 10 seconds. You have a match point, then match point down. It’s no time to think, but very nerve-wracking,” Muchova said. “I’m really kind of shaking and trying to sink it in.”

Earlier in the tiebreaker, Muchova produced a diving forehand volley winner at full stretch that brought back memories of the way three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker used to play. She ended up face down on the grass, her racket lying next to her, as the crowd roared.

There will be a third Czech champion in four years after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

Gauff’s Wimbledon history

For Gauff, it was still her most successful Wimbledon. Previously, the seventh-ranked American had gone only as far as the fourth round three times – including as a 15-year-old in 2019 in her Grand Slam debut.

Gauff had had won six of her seven previous matches against Muchova.

But Muchova has been nearly unbeatable on grass this year and extended her record this season on the surface to 11-1 after a title in Bad Homburg, Germany. Her only loss on grass this year came against Madison Keys in the Berlin Open round of 16.

Muchova beat Gauff for the first time in April on clay in Stuttgart, Germany.

It was another hot day in London with the temperature soaring to 91 degrees Fahreinheit (33 Celsius), prompting spectators to fan themselves in the stands in an attempt to keep cool.

Muchova appeared to be struggling physically as the match wore on, bending over in exhaustion after one long rally and holding her abdomen in apparent pain during the final game.

“I’m OK,” Muchova said. “I just was trying to catch a breath.”

The men’s semifinals on Friday feature top-ranked and defending champion Jannik Sinner against seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic and French Open champion Alexander Zverev against British wild card Arthur Fery.

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Associated Press writer Mattias Karén contributed to this report.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press