One set and 2-1 down, Karolína Muchová sits in her chair. The movement and muffling behind a black Adidas mask shows that she is talking to the two doctors hovering in front.
The one with the walkie-talkie tied to her pants holds her wrist between her thumb and two fingers, feeling the pulse that is clearly present, but also very absent at the Rod Laver Arena. The 24-year-old Czech faced her Australian Open game at Ash Barty, overtook and was smarter during the 24 minutes that took the world No. 1 to claim the first set.
Muchová was fumbling around his neck and something clearly justifies further evaluation. A temperature check, at least, because she’s hot and bothered by Barty’s cold and serene. Clammy for Barty’s crispy. After the match, she reveals that her “head was spinning”.
The walkie talkie man reads the mercury and nods to his colleague and the pair, both carrying backpacks undoubtedly full of details for each situation, lead Muchová from the court and through the tunnel.
Barty’s challenger is gone. Literally, she left the scene of the massacre. But she is also gone in a figurative sense. Nothing can reverse this carnage, this quarter-final straitjacket where there is no room to move or air to breathe before the Australian world number one stops its escape attempts yet again.
This is reminiscent of Barty’s first game against Danka Kovinić, the Montenegrin who lost the first set 6-0 and suffered two blows after that. Muchová manages to avoid this when Barty, who had reached 5-0 in the first after holding a serve to love, gave Muchová a game of service. The 2019 French Open champion made up for these unforced mistakes almost immediately with a pass that deserved a quick victory in the first set.
An early pause on Barty’s path in the second increases the doctor’s waiting time. And so the first of two mini-matches played within one ends. The second begins with Muchová reemerging and throwing – more like a quick move – that black Adidas mask on his seat. Something changed during those 10 minutes.
Barty still doesn’t quite know what, and he’s probably still not sure when Muchová breaks his loot. She becomes more alert to this reorientation by losing seven of the next eight games, and painfully conscious in a puddle of decisive sets, advancing inexplicably deeper in 2-0, then 3-1 and finally 5-2 and receiving to save your tournament.
Barty does not do drama like this. But unlike previous flawless performances, this one is no longer in your control. Muchová converts his first match point with an ace, a perfect finish in an unrecognizable second part of a competition that lasts a total of one hour and 57 minutes.
A lost pace, an inadequate breakdown for an aspiring champion. Barty’s face is white. The same is true of history books, as the drought of titles from simple Australian Open locations has spanned 44 years.
Muchová too, despite his almost mythical resurgence, almost shrugs at the bottom line. Then she says she was not hurt.
“I started to feel a little lost at the end of the first set, she played almost as if there were no mistakes,” she says afterwards. “It was very difficult and I was a little lost on the court and my head was spinning, so I took a break. It helped me. I tried to go back, I played rallies a little faster, so we didn’t play the long ones as in the first set and it worked well. “
A gracious Barty, nudged and nudged by the media in search of a reaction, refuses to blame his opponent.
“It’s within the rules,” says Barty. “She has a right to use that time. Had she not been within the rules, physiotherapists and doctors would have said so. Those are the laws of our game, having those medical breaks for any cases that are necessary. Obviously she needed it today.
“I played many games in which there were medical times. I’ve taken a medical break myself before, so this shouldn’t be a big turning point in the game. I was disappointed to have let this become a turning point. I have enough experience now to be able to handle it. “
Muchova will play her semifinal against Jennifer Brady after the American overcame several mistakes to survive three sets against her compatriot Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.