Wrist injuries can be career killers; players are terrified of them. Just ask 2020 US Open champ Dominic Thiem, who retired from Grand Slam tennis here just last week, unable to recoup his confidence and wrist-heavy game after his own bout of surgery.
“When I go back to [this] February,” Muchova said, “I have to say I wasn’t always that positive. It was tough moments, honestly, when I couldn’t move my arm and couldn’t do much. Now, looking back, I’m like, ‘Oh, it actually flew by, the time,’ and I feel strong again.”
Muchova’s wrist began acting up again last year at Flushing Meadows, where she lost in the semifinals to Coco Gauff. It hampered her and ultimately forced her to leave the tour and undergo surgery in February. She was off the tour—for the umpteenth time, it seemed—until June, and had only 12 matches leading into this tournament.
There was scant evidence of rust in Muchova’s performance today. Haddad Maia is a formidable ball striker, who stands 6’1” and lacks only a higher level of consistency to be even more dangerous than her ranking of No. 21 suggests. She’s also the first Brazilian woman to reach the US Open quarterfinals since Maria Bueno, 56 years ago. That all helps account for the sudden flowering of yellow jerseys with green trim all over Arthur Ashe Stadium, and the Carnival atmosphere they tried to stimulate.
