Karolina Muchova will be one of many on the WTA to have been left stunned by the manner of Naomi Osaka’s win over Coco Gauff.
After all, few could have predicted it would be so dominant, with the 21-year-old brushed aside with few signs of pushback, 6-3, 6-2.
The Japanese star was rampant, and has catapulted herself into contention for the US Open title in the eyes of many.
Muchova, however, will not be fazed. She will have aspirations of silencing the new noise that is swirling around Naomi Osaka, having quietly enjoyed a really impressive tournament thus far.
Asked about the imminent clash, the big-hitting Czech was honest in her assessment.
Karolina Muchova previews her US Open match vs Naomi Osaka
She first told reporters what she felt the key difference had been for Osaka in the past months, as she has gone from regularly suffering shock losses to being a mainstay in the latter stages of her most recent events.
Muchova began: “Yeah, the difference. I think she just now got more matches under her belt, winning matches, and I’d say she’s not.
“Yeah, I’d say just she got that belief again, that she can be the best and trust her strokes more and playing really fast, really good. So yeah, gonna be tough.”
Then asked to assess what she felt Osaka’s biggest weapons were, the 29-year-old continued: “I didn’t see her matches here, honestly, so I think just that she’s playing fast. She’s, um, um.. Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, good serve, fast strokes. She’s moving well. Yeah, I mean, she’s great.
“It’s gonna be, again, I will repeat myself, it’s gonna be that battle for sure, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Elsewhere, Gauff has been told to take the rest of the year off by a former Grand Slam champion, such was the nature of Osaka’s beatdown.
Karolina Muchova’s road to the US Open quarter-finals
As a former Grand Slam finalist and a two-time semi-finalist at the US Open, Muchova is well-versed in deep runs at events of this magnitude.
However, she comes up against arguably one of the most experienced players on tour, who has four Grand Slam titles under her belt, two of which came here in New York.
It promises to be an enthralling, thunderous affair with plenty of bruising rallies for fans to enjoy.
The only worry is Muchova’s fitness, which has held up for the most part throughout her run.
She began her campaign with a hard-fought three-set win over Venus Williams, before gaining narrow wins over Sorana Cîrstea and Linda Noskova too.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
Marta Kostyuk marked her most recent triumph, meaning she has gone the distance in all four matches she has played at the US Open.
For comparison, Osaka has dropped just one set.
AloJapan.com