"I honestly didn't even believe I will finish the match, I was shaking": Karolina Muchova found Naomi Osaka occasion hard to deal with

Karolina Muchova will face her compatriot Nikola Bartunkova in the Quarter-Finals of the China Open on Thursday, but she found it a real struggle she admitted to seeing off Naomi Osaka.

Muchova played Osaka earlier today, winning 7-5, 1-6, and 7-6, and is now through to the last eight and said she was shaking and didn't think she was even going to finish the match at one point. No mind to win it.

"This was our third time playing this year, so every time it's a really tough battle. I knew it was going to be the same today, and you can see that the score is 7-6 in the third.

"I thought it could go either way. I think I was maybe a little bit lucky at the end. I'm just really, really glad that I made it.

"It was kind of a roller coaster out there, you know. So yeah, happy to get the win."

Muchova admitted that the match was swirling in her head, and it really affected her as she went on speaking on court, and also that she felt like she was shaking throughout the contest.

"It was a roller coaster on the court, but also in my head a little bit, you know. Once I was like, oh, damn. Then I again got pumped as well with the crowd.

The crowd helps here a lot, so I definitely took some energy out of them as well, and yeah, proud of how I handled it at the end.

"I honestly didn't even believe I would finish the match," Muchova added on court.

"So many match points; I didn't know how many. After a match point I was like, 'OK, I'm going for it,' but then I think she always played great and steady and didn't make mistakes – unlike me, unfortunately!

"I was shaking. I'm happy that I made the last volley, and it was really so close. Naomi could be standing here. It's me, and I'm really grateful for it."

Told that Sven Groeneveld, her coach, said that the way he tries to get the best out of her is to actually let her roam free, not try and control too much, and she had the perfect reply to that. "Well, I'm sure he would have a better answer than I do, but yeah, definitely we are working on some things, and the attitude on the court and playing free is one of the things, because that's where I think I play the best, you know, as well when I enjoy the tennis and just run a lot forward and all that, so definitely we are working on that together."

Asked about her goals now that the Grand Slam season is over and whether she keeps her eye on rankings and the race, she responded to that notion. "I know about it, and I feel like there are more people around me, and everyone is asking about it, but not really. Obviously, it would be really nice to finish the season there, but if it's not going to happen, it's not going to happen.

"I just try to focus on the matches, building my game. I'm happy I am healthy again, and I can play and, as you said, match by match. I'm just trying to stay in the focus and the things that I can control ahead of me."