The 29-year-old Czech came through 7-5, 7-6(5) in a match lasting one hour and 47 minutes, later admitting the encounter “could have gone either way” after a fiercely competitive battle.
Muchova’s reward is a last-four clash against world No. 4 Coco Gauff, scheduled for Thursday. Gauff advanced after defeating Belinda Bencic 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, securing her own maiden Miami Open semi-final after previously failing to progress beyond the fourth round in six attempts.
The quarter-final itself hinged on key moments under pressure. In the opening set, both players held serve comfortably until 5-4, when Muchova found herself trailing 0-30.
She responded by winning four consecutive points to level at 5-5 before capitalising on a shaky Mboko service game to break. The Czech then sealed the set 7-5 on her third set point.
The second set proved even tighter, with no breaks of serve forcing a tiebreak. Muchova gained an early mini-break and maintained her composure to close it out 7-5.
“It was very close, basically one point at the end. It can always change in tennis. I’m just very grateful I was able to win the last point,” Muchova said.
“She’s an amazing player. Every time you play a top-10 player you go on the court and you don’t know who’s gonna win, who’s gonna lose,” she added. “I tried to stay focused and stay aggressive.”
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