On Court Philippe-Chatrier, in the quarterfinal of the French Open, Karolina Muchova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2 in one hour and 38 minutes.

Muchova is a delight to watch. She plays an all-court game with creative variety. She’s an exquisite ball-striker and often uses the serve and volley, which is somewhat rare in today’s game.

For the match, Muchova hit 21 winners and 15 unforced errors. She won 70% of points on her first serve. She won five of 11 break points.

In her press conference, Muchova said: “Yeah, I think today I played great from the start of both sets, and that for sure helped. Nastia was playing very aggressive and maybe here and there I would say pretty risky, and was going to the court and then here and there there was few mistakes that helped me, and as well I started well the sets and then I finished them well, as well.

“Yeah, I’m pleased about that and great that I won in two sets.”

(S. Boué/L'Équipe)

Muchova said she was feeling physically great, moving into her first Roland Garros semifinal. “When I compare it to those before [semis Australian, quarters Wimbledon], I feel great now. I think that I played last few matches were just two sets, that for sure helped to save some energy. Yeah, now I have a day off tomorrow.”

Muchova said: “Well, I think year by year at least I’m trying to be a better player on all the surfaces. This year I had a great tournament in Rome. Before I had a great preparation. Here I started well and with matches I gained some confidence. Of course, now I’m feeling better on clay.”

In the first round of the tournament, Muchova beat Maria Sakkari. Muchova said it felt like it helped her. “To beat such a great player, top-10 player, it always helps. It was really tough because it was the first round, and first rounds are always tricky. And to play Maria in the first, I think it was tough draw for both of us.

“Glad that I was the one who left the court as the winner.”

Muchova spoke about her game style and how she came to play that way. “I think it was always a little bit like inside of me, like since I was a kid I was very, I liked the great game in everything. I was very competitive, and I liked different things.

“Even though if we look back on videos when I was really young, you would still find me going to the net and playing dropshots. So, it was, I would say, always there.

“Of course then later when I was a little older I was looking up to Roger Federer. I think I’m repeating myself a little bit. But, yeah, I liked his aggressive game and coming to the net and slices. For sure I took something from that and from other players, as well.

“Yeah, and now we just, I like that game, and then we tried to work on it to make it better. So yeah, it works on big stages and against great players. So, yeah, I think there are still a lot of space for improvement in that, as well.”

Next, Muchova will play second seed Aryna Sabalenka.