Roger Federer fan Karolina Muchova draws inspiration from her idol's slice shots
Karolina Muchova recently opened up about drawing inspiration from her idol Roger Federer and his exceptional slice shots.
Karolina Muchova started off her campaign at the 2023 Madrid Open with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Anett Kontaveit on Tuesday, April 25. Following her win, Muchova extended her head-to-head record over Kontaveit to 3-0.
After the match, Muchova joined Prakash Amritraj on the Tennis Channel, where she dissected her dominant performance against Kontaveit.
"I spin it more, she goes for it fast. She was doing a little bit more mistakes that helped me for sure. I wouldn't say it fits me but I just try to play my game and it worked," Muchova said.
When asked about the evolution of her all-round game, the 26-year-old stated her passion for developing a versatile range of shots. Muchova further claimed that she is relishing the process of building an arsenal of different techniques.
"Thank you first. It is what you said, I enjoy it. I like to, since I was a kid I like games, I like to play all the different stuff. Sometimes it’s too much of everything but I like it. I don’t know what else to say to that but going to the net and slicing and drop shots are some fun. It’s the way I like to play," she said.
When asked to name her favorite player when she was young, the former World No. 19 was quick to name Roger Federer.
“Of course it’s Federer," she stated.
Amritraj and Muchova then joked about Federer mastering the slice shot in his time.
"He hit a few slices in his time also," Amritraj joked.
"Few slices yeah," Muchova replied.
Karolina Muchova will take on Irina-Camelia Begu in Madrid Open 2R
Karolina Muchova will take on Irina-Camelia Begu in the second round of the Madrid Open on Thursday, April 27. Begu leads 1-0 in her head-to-head against Muchova. The Romanian won their sole previous encounter at the 2019 French Open in three sets, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In 2022, Muchova defeated Qinwen Zheng in the first round of the Madrid Open. However, the Czech was unable to progress further in the tournament, losing her subsequent match to Belinda Bencic 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
Muchova has enjoyed prior success in Madrid, reaching the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 event in 2021. She lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarter-finals in straight sets.
On her return to the WTA tour in 2023 after suffering abdominal and ankle injuries last year, Karolina Muchova holds a 15-5 win/loss record for the season so far.