The women take center stage at the Wimbledon Championships on Thursday, when spots in the title match will be at stake.
Up first on the semifinal schedule is an intriguing battle between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova.
Upsets have been plentiful in the women’s draw so far at the All-England Club, but Gauff against Muchova is not exactly a surprising semifinal matchup.
Gauff is the No. 7 player in the world and a two-time Grand Slam champion, while Muchova is a slam finalist (2023 French Open) and has always been a force on grass.
This clash should be a scintillating Wimbledon contest on Centre Court and both women are more than worthy of playing in Saturday’s championship match, but one will have to head for the exits on Thursday.
Coco Gauff vs. Karolina Muchova betting picks and predictions
Karolina Muchova to win (-125)
There is no denying that Gauff owns the head-to-head series, leading it 6-1, but the most important match is the last one, and that is the one in which Muchova emerged victorious.
The Czech finally got over the hump against her nemesis by prevailing 6-3 5-7 6-3 on the clay courts of Stuttgart earlier this season.
That should give Muchova plenty of confidence heading into the eighth meeting but it’s not the only reason why the 29-year-old should be feeling good about herself right now.
She is riding a nine-match winning streak, which features a grass-court title in Bad Homburg a couple of weeks ago and a straight-set victory over Naomi Osaka on Tuesday.
Muchova has dropped only one set so far at the All-England Club, and that was to 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Despite reaching the semis, Gauff has struggled at times. The American has played four consecutive three-set matches, winning only her first-round contest in straight sets and even required a final-set tiebreaker to defeat Solana Sierra in round two
It should also be noted that Gauff had never previously reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, whereas she has won both the US Open and French Open, with grass the surface that has given her the most problems.
Muchova may be lower ranked – albeit only slightly – at ninth in the world, but she is favored to win this match.
Over 22.5 games (-125)
To a greater extent than at any of the other three major championships, Wimbledon matches are generally more competitive and therefore longer.
Grass is simply a great equalizer and margins are smaller on this surface. It is more difficult to break serve, so sets are decided by tiebreakers more often than they are on clay or hard courts.
This contest between Gauff and Muchova should be no exception.
As mentioned above, Gauff is going to a third set basically every time she takes to the court and in Muchova’s past three matches, four sets have resulted in either 7-6 or 7-5 scorelines.
A three-set marathon between Gauff and Muchova would be no surprise and even a two-set match could feature 23 games.
Over 5.5 service breaks (-110)
In six of the seven previous head-to-head encounters, Gauff and Muchova have broken each other at least six times.
Their match in Miami this spring produced seven service breaks even though it lasted a grand total of 14 total games.
Backing the over on this market is almost always a good idea when Gauff is involved, because her serve is extremely unreliable but her return game is arguably the best on the WTA Tour.
The 22-year-old has broken her opponents 23 times through five rounds during this tournament, while dropping her own serve 12 times.
Coco Gauff vs. Karolina Muchova odds
Coco Gauff | +100 |
Karolina Muchova | -125 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
