"It felt like a stone fell off my heart, I was like, ‘Hey, finally, I made it": Karolina Muchova looks back on Qatar triumph after thrashing Eala in Miami

Karolina Muchova continued her impressive run at the Miami Open, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time after a commanding 6-0, 6-2 victory over Alexandra Eala.

On the Cadillac desk for Tennis Channel, Muchova reflected on her performance, her game plan, her career milestones, and her distinctive style both on and off the court at the Miami Open.

“Honestly, today it felt pretty good,” Muchova said on Tennis Channel. “I felt like everything I touched went into the court. I tried to be aggressive, it was a good day for me.”

When asked about her strategy against Eala, Muchova explained, “I just wanted to control the game because I know she can be very dangerous, especially here. She had an amazing result last year, so I just tried to control the game, stay at the baseline, play aggressively, and yeah, it worked pretty well.”

The dominant scoreline echoed a pattern from earlier in Muchova’s career, when she had several sets won 6,0 or 6,1 in consecutive matches. Asked what it is about her game that allows her to dominate a set like that, she said, “I never really think about it that way. It’s honestly not easy. When you’re winning, you still have to keep focus and keep pressuring the player. Today, my serve helped me a little bit. I was serving pretty well, so it was pretty fast points on my serves, and I just tried to keep focus.”

Indeed, Muchova’s serve was a key weapon, with about 80 percent of first serves in. Earlier this year, she captured her first title since 2019 at Doha, a moment she described as deeply affirming. “I proved to myself that I’m able to win a tournament,” she said. “It had been quite a while since I was able to lift a trophy again. It felt like a stone fell off my heart, I was like, ‘Hey, finally, I made it.’ I was pretty nervous during the whole match and even before, so yeah, it just proved to me that I can still do it and win a big title like that.”

Asked how she overcame nerves in the final, Muchova said, “I just really tried not to think about it too much, because I played pretty good tennis that week. Every match I felt better and better on the court, so I just tried to focus on each point. That got me to match point, and then I was able to win it.”

Muchova has been playing well all season, and her creativity is frequently highlighted on Tennis Channel’s “Best of the Best” segment. Asked about her favourite shot in her career, she said, “I think I like that US Open shot you mentioned, the behind-the-back. Yeah, it was kind of lucky, but it was just a nice shot. I’d take that one.”

When asked about favourite shots from today’s match, she replied, “Not really. My forehand was working quite well, maybe some nice forehands down the line, but nothing you would put on your channel.”

Off the court, Muchova’s flair extends into fashion. She recently appeared in a spread for Harper’s Bazaar. “It was a very long day, but it was super nice because it was kind of a project with my friend, who is one of the best stylists in the Czech Republic. We’re great friends, so when you have good people around, everything goes smoothly. It was fun, and it’s always nice to do something different than just being in sports clothes and sweating. It was a nice experience.”

Asked to define her style, Muchova said, “I would say kind of casual, pretty casual.” When the host noted that the Harper’s Bazaar outfits were next-level, Muchova agreed, “Yeah, those outfits were a bit different, fancy stuff.”

“Just like your game, you have many levels to your fashion as well,” the host added, congratulating her on her win. Muchova responded, “Thank you very much, I appreciate it.”