One of the most incredible sequences in the first days of the US Open, which is being played in Flushing Meadows, occurred in a first round match of the women’s tournament. Karolina Muchova She excelled against Katie Volynets, whom she defeated 6-3 and 7-5 to advance to the second round. The Czech was the protagonist of a real gem: He executed a backflip and a jump at the same time, which resulted in obtaining the point and sparked applause from the audience.
The first set was underway when American Katie Volynets was down 4-1 and had the serve. When the Czech returned the serve, the American began to demand it, until her rival had to resort to this unregistered technique, an extraordinary movement. The ball came back to Volynets in the form of a lob and made things difficult for her; she had to go well to the back of the court to respond. This time of the ball’s trajectory benefited the Czech, who could have won the point with a smash.
The public reaction to the blow was one of astonishment, but when Muchova finally got that pointheard the recognition from the stands. The tennis player took it very calmly, did not celebrate with euphoria, She only smiled at a return that gave the match its distinctive touch. Finally, the Czech won the first round match in two sets (6-3, 7-5) and in the next round she will play against the Japanese Naomi Osaka next Thursday at a time to be determined.
Muchova’s shot bears some resemblance to one by Roger Federer. However, the difficulty of the tennis player’s move eventually outweighed the Swiss’ brilliance. In 2015, in Halle, Federer also went too far and won with the same trick as the Czech, against the German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The 28-year-old player is currently number 52 in the WTA rankings, but became the world’s eighth in September 2023. She reached that position after being a finalist at Roland Garros, the Parisian Grand Slam in which she fell in the final against the Polish Iga Swiatek. The same year she was a semi-finalist at the US Open. She reached the same stage in 2021, at the Australian Open. Meanwhile, at Wimbledon, she reached the quarter-finals in 2019 and 2021. Her only title was in 2019, when she won a tournament held in Seoul, on hard surface. This year, The Czech only played 10 games after a difficult period due to injuries.
