Weirdly, this was still another match to show why you should never count out Coco Gauff. After what we had seen at this Wimbledon, no one doubted there would be a response even as her forehand deserted her and Karolina Muchova won the first set of their semi-final 6-2 in 39 minutes. No one was surprised when Gauff fired back and eventually converted her ninth break point to lead the second set, forcing a deciding set for a fifth match in a row. It still felt as if Gauff had lives to spare as she battled through a series of tight service games to get through to the final-set tiebreak, and it felt like she still had hope as Muchova played an inspired series of points to close in on the final.
The diving Muchova volley, really, should have been the point that this match tiebreak – high-quality in the front half, packed with nerves in the second, but epic throughout – should be remembered for. Pushed deep into her forehand corner, Gauff looked to pull off the pass crosscourt. Muchova, who had spent the set holding her side due to a stitch, looked to be beaten, only to spring to her right and land the ball softly inside the service box. The racket fell from Muchova’s hand, but she rose and on the next point fired the ace to lead 6-3. When Gauff double-faulted to go down 8-7, the 22-year-old American’s journey of survival at Wimbledon appeared to have finally run out of road.
And yet, moments later, Gauff was in front for the first time in the match and had match point for a place in the Wimbledon final. After a forehand error from Muchova, umpire Alison Hughes called a time violation for the Czech and her head wobbled, leading to the backhand long. Gauff was on the brink of pulling off the great escape, again. At 9-8, she walked up to the baseline, batted the ball against the dirt with her racket, and then launched herself into a 117mph serve down the middle of the service box that had Muchova scrambling for the return. The pace of the serve left Muchova stranded, seemingly beaten.
What happened next may be replayed in Gauff’s mind until a day arrives where she lifts the Venus Rosewater Dish. The return floated back and sat up for Gauff above the net; it was there, waiting to be finished as she rushed in, an open goal begging to be put away for a winner. But the bounce caught Gauff “off guard”. She “panicked” and there was a smaller stutter, a flash of doubt and uncertainty, as the forehand demons suddenly returned. Clearly stuck in two minds, whether to strike or to caress, Gauff did neither and patted her 20th forehand error of the match into the net.
“People who don’t watch tennis are going to be like, Why did you do that?” Gauff later 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. I think that’s just tennis.”
In the moment, though, it became Gauff’s turn to spiral. She went looking for her towel at the back of the court at 9-9, without realising it was a change of ends. Muchova produced a sumptuous lob to move to match point again, only to suffer her own choke as she slipped and Gauff stayed alive with the crosscourt forehand.
But the 29-year-old went on the attack in the way she knows how. “In my head was just like I have to keep hitting,” Muchova said. “I was telling myself if I’m going to lose this, I want to lose on my own terms. My terms is going forward, playing aggressive, going to the net.”
Maybe it’s the injuries Muchova has struggled with since her last grand slam final appearance, undergoing wrist surgery following defeat to Iga Swiatek in the 2023 French Open final, that sharpened Muchova’s decisive edge. She ripped a forehand winner and then nudged a backhand down the line that forced Gauff into a final, devastating miss. Gauff disappeared from Centre Court within moments of the handshake. “I’m going to think about it tonight,” she said.
Two weeks ago, Gauff arrived at Wimbledon with no expectations after a series of early exits at the Championships, largely ever since her 2019 breakthrough when she was only 15 years old. In truth, Gauff had not impacted Wimbledon much since her debut, but her fight through the draw was captivating and the former US Open and French Open winner arrived in the semi-finals as the only major champion left. She may not have considered herself the favourite, but this was a chance to do the unexpected: with her miss on match point, Gauff now has another moment at Wimbledon that may forever follow her career.
Gauff, though, can also appear wise beyond her years. Even within a couple of hours of that miss, the 22-year-old was reminding herself that she had been on the brink in the match tiebreak against Solana Sierra in the second round, and telling herself that she is not the only player to have lost from match point in a major tournament. Roger Federer lost his final Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic from match point. Jannik Sinner lost from three match points up against Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final last June, yet returned to win Wimbledon in July.
“Every great champion has this happen in their career. Maybe this is something I need to be on their level,” she said. A different decision on match point – and she later realised that slicing down the line to wrong-foot Muchova could have sealed it – wouldn’t have changed her perception on what has been a positive tournament.
“As painful as it is from the outside, I think about [how] I was down 7-4 in the second round, and I’m here in the semis,” Gauff said. “It’s not a painful story. I’m definitely going to come next year with more confidence and hopefully a better player.”
And with that response, don’t count out Coco Gauff from making it back to the final one day.