Exclusive: 'I can be a good competitor' - French Open finalist Karolina Muchova confident of challenging big three

Just over three weeks ago, Karolina Muchova stood on a podium in the middle of Court Philippe-Chatrier, fighting tears, with a runner-up plate in one hand and a microphone in the other as the Roland Garros crowd gave her an extended standing ovation. The Czech had just played, and lost, a brilliant three-set final against world No.1 Iga Swiatek and the fans wanted to make sure she knew they appreciated the show she put on for them throughout the fortnight in Paris.

Ad “It was the most crazy and amazing feeling I had on court,” Muchova told eurosport.com in an interview on Sunday. WimbledonTsitsipas and Badosa to play mixed doubles at WimbledonAN HOUR AGO “I mean I’ve played on big stadiums and had interviews and people clapping but this was completely from another planet, because it was really full of people and I felt like people are really trying to push me to get the win there, then just everyone standing and clapping, saying my name.

“I really want to thank each one of them. It was a very strong moment.” That run in Paris has taken Muchova to a career-high No.16 in the world and the 26-year-old is back seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2021 US Open, after injuries wreaked havoc with her progress and saw her slip to outside the top 200 in the rankings by last autumn.

Swiatek sweeps past Sorribes Tormo to reach third round Federer: I was 'truly dreading' retirement, but it turned out to be 'beautiful' Murray claims he is 'playing well enough' to beat most players at Wimbledon Muchova’s first match since the Roland Garros final comes on Wednesday at Wimbledon, where she takes on last year’s quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier in a highly-anticipated opening round. The No.16 seed opted out of playing any