French Open: Unseeded Karolina Muchova vying for Iga Swiatek’s clay crown

Court Suzanne Lenglen was home to one of the first upsets of the French Open this year when, on opening Sunday, the unseeded Karolina Muchova stormed past eighth-seed Maria Sakkari in straight sets. But as most of Muchova’s colleagues on the tour and tennis fanatics already knew, and what she went on to prove over the next fortnight, this was only an upset on paper.Muchova is the latest of a slew of women’s tennis sensations to break out from Czech Republic, a country of only nearly 11 million that has shown the uncanny ability to produce some of the sport’s best over the years. But despite blooming late, reaching her first Major final at Roland Garros this week – where she takes on World No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Saturday – at the age of 26, her crafty all-court game has been revered in tennis circles for long, and more so its effectiveness on clay.As Muchova picked off opponent after opponent, her run in Paris did not pick up steam until Thursday, when she scored the biggest win of her life defeating Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal in Paris.

Her toughest test yet, but Iga gets the job done in two sets 💪
Check out the highlights 👇#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/5RDjOdpA6W
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2023
The Czech was at her natural, explosive best. Mental strife and injuries have taken their toll on her, but over three hours of high-quality tennis on Thursday, she was able to prove why her World No. 43 ranking is deceptive.
Sabalenka’s firepower game – unbeaten at Grand Slams this year up until then – was counteracted as Muchova took control from the baseline. She served with focus and returned with precision, hit her forehand with immense venom, and had Sabalenka trailing all over the court with variety of slices and drop shots.
She showed fight too. After giving up the lead in the second-set tiebreak, she came back from 2-5 down, saving match point, to win. Her performance was an exhibition of all that the tennis world has been missing out on in her injury-induced absences, and her mental resolve would give her much-needed confidence heading into Swiatek’s lair – day time on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Swiatek’s domination of the tour last year, including a whopping 37-match winning streak, was always going to be a hard act to follow this year. Despite that, Swiatek has not loosened her grip on the surface that accentuates her strengths most – the bouncy, sluggish red clay.
When she burst onto the scene – winning the French Open title in the 2020 COVID-derailed season at the age of 19 – she boasted of an all-court playing style. Those instincts have been left behind to focus more of the aggressive baseline play that allows her to blow past the chasing pack.

Tws and turns at every corner 👀
Catch up on the Highlights of the Day @emirates from Karolina Muchova’s thrilling semifinal win over world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka.#FlyBetter #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ocCeEzWWnK
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2023
Iga’s ‘bakery’
Swiatek’s aggressive court positioning tight, or sometimes inside the baseline allows her to take the ball early and hit it with the precision, spin, and power that create the perfect archetype for a clay court game. When momentum is on her side, she has the killer instinct to blow past opponents in the blink of an eye, often prompting tennis-crazy fans online to repeat references to “Iga’s Bakery”.
In tennis parlance, a ‘bagel’ is a set won 6-0, and a ‘breadstick’ is a set won 6-1. Swiatek has won nine sets with those scorelines over the last two editions of the French Open, including four ‘bagels’ this year. Given her overwhelming status as the favourite, the pressure of expectations has risen, but match after match, Swiatek has grown in confidence.
But there is still the small matter of a Grand Slam final to deal with. While Swiatek’s form may feel untouchable, Muchova’s contrasting playing style might be the antidote.
If the Pole has the ability to impose herself from the baseline through aggression and rock-solid defence, the Czech has the tennis repertoire to disrupt her rhythm. Not only does she have a strong forehand that can cope with the crosscourt exchanges, but also a deep backhand slice and strategic defensive lobs in her armour to slow things down and make Swiatek work to prevail in the long rallies.
Swiatek’s major strategic weapon this year has been her return. With aggressive return positioning, depth of groundstrokes, and ability to take the ball high and early, she can suffocate her opponents when they miss their mark. But Muchova’s laser-like first serve is very accurate and consent, on which she has won more than 60% of the points in all but one match.
Swiatek, as the World No. 1 and defending champion, is the obvious favourite. On her day, she can roll over any opponent, but when things are not going her way, she has shown a tendency to unravel. Muchova is also no stranger to the big occasion, winning each of her five previous matches against players ranked in the top three, including a remarkable win against home favourite Ash Barty in the 2021 Australian Open quarterfinal.
The Pole will look to make light work of another lower-ranked opponent in Paris, and Muchova, with nothing to lose, will hope to make her as uncomfortable as she can.