Karolina Muchova makes her feelings known about facing Coco Gauff in United Cup SF

Karolina Muchova helped the Czech Republic defeat Italy 2-1 and secure a spot in the United Cup semifinals on Friday, December 3. Muchova defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2 after Tomas Machac managed to get the better of Flavio Cobolli in straight sets.

Now, the 2023 French Open runner-up is staring at a clash with Coco Gauff, which won't be as easy as the one against Paolini. While Muchova has been very good for a couple of years, she has struggled to remain consistent due to persistent injury issues.

The new season has started on a strong note for the Czech, but it promises to get a bit more complicated as the season progresses towards difficult matchups. In the post-match press conference, Karolina Muchova discussed the upcoming fixtures and addressed the role fatigue could play ahead of a difficult clash against Coco Gauff. Reflecting on her recent run of performances, Muchova said:

"I take it very positively," Muchova said. "It's so good, especially before Melbourne is going to come, to have these tough matches. I'm playing, I'd say, almost top-10 players. And as you mentioned, I didn't play matches for two months or something like that, so it's very important for me to play them, to play the best players, to see where is my game, where is their game, and then learn from even the wins and the loss, as well, and just try to get back to where I was playing end of last year and even better."

To secure the final, the Czech Republic will have to face the United States on Saturday, December 4. Acknowledging USA as a 'difficult opposition', Karolina Muchova previewed the semifinal clash, maintaining that recovering in time was key.

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"Really tough opponent" - Karolina Muchova on facing Coco Gauff in United Cup 2025 SF

While Karolina Muchova-led Czechia would be looking to secure a spot in the final, it won't be an easy task given USA's compelling run. Muchova, in particular, will have a tough job having to face Coco Gauff, one of the best players in the world.

Discussing their upcoming clash during the same post-match conference, Muchova said she wasn't thinking too much about her match against Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz, but admitted that getting past them wouldn't be easy.

"I don't know. I don't want to talk for Tomas, but I'm not really thinking about tomorrow yet. Yeah, I guess we know it's a really tough opponent. They are both amazing athletes. So I think for us, the most important is to recover as quick as possible and just get ready for tomorrow," Muchova said.

If Muchova manages to defeat Gauff, it would be her first victory in the four occasions that the two have faced each other on tour. United States enter the semifinal on the back of a dominant 3-0 win against China on Wednesday, January 1.