Karolina Muchova vs. Clara Tauson
Tauson is fast turning into one of the pleasant surprises of the season. At 22, she has begun to fulfill some of the potential that she showed when she was the No. 1 junior in the world five years ago. She’s 14-3 on the season, she has a title, and this is her second semifinal in three weeks. In Dubai, she has beaten Svitolina, Sabalenka, and Noskova, in the only way he knows how: By hauling off and pummeling the ball.
Tauson and Muchova have never played, but it’s not hard to imagine that they’ll give us a severe contrast in styles. Where Tauson goes for knockout punches with every swing, Muchova aims to jab and nick and cut her opponents with a variety of shots and spins and ploys.
Each woman has survived a third-set tiebreaker, and then come back to play even better the next day. So both should be in a groove and hard to disrupt on Friday. I’ll go with the more experienced of the two players to keep her groove going, and find a way to throw her younger opponent out of hers. Winner: Muchova —Steve Tignor
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