Karolina Muchova tops Beatriz Haddad Maia, returns to US Open semis

NEW YORK -- Karolina Muchova is back in the US Open semifinals for the second straight year, punctuating her return from wrist surgery by beating No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday.

Muchova lost to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the 2023 semis in Flushing Meadows, then missed nearly 10 months after suffering a wrist injury during the tournament.

The Czech player returned to action in June just before Wimbledon, and a little more than two months later, she is into her fourth career Grand Slam semifinal.

Muchova, who has yet to drop a set this tournament, has won 10 of her past 11 matches at the US Open after going 7-5 over her first five main draw appearances at the event.

She appeared to be struggling with an undisclosed physical issue in the second set and was grabbing her hip between points before leaving the court with a physio.

Muchova did not specify the nature of the discomfort when asked by ESPN's Pam Shriver after the match.

"A little weird match, I have to say," Muchova said in her on-court interview. "I had little problems, I wouldn't like to comment on it actually if it's fine. But I'm happy I managed it, to run to the bathroom and back. Sorry if it disturbed anyone, but I had no other choice."

Haddad Maia, the first Brazilian woman to make the US Open quarterfinals since Maria Bueno in 1968, also asked for a break after Muchova held serve to go up 5-3 in the second set, and was seen to by a trainer.

Muchova is the 19th unseeded woman in the Open era to reach the semifinals in New York, and only the fifth to do so without a dropping a set, alongside Mima Jausovec (1976), Flavia Pennetta (2013), Peng Shuai (2014) and qualifier Emma Raducanu, who won the title in 2021.

She will face top-seeded Iga Swiatek or No. 6 Jessica Pegula on Thursday in the semifinals.

ESPN Stats & Information, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.