United Cup: Muchova stars as Czechia beat Norway

Norway goes down in the deciding mixed doubles despite Ruud’s marathon win over Machac in singles

Karolina Muchova (Imago/Panoramic)

December 29, 2024

Karolina Muchova won her singles match and then teamed up successfully with countryman Tomas Machac in the mixed doubles to lead the Czech team to a 2-1 victory over Norway in Group B at the United Cup on Sunday.

Muchova, a former Roland-Garros finalist, gave Czechia the best possible start with a 6-2, 6-2 win over world No 404 Malene Helgo on one hour and 17 minutes.

In the second singles rubber, Casper Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, won a hard-fought contest over Machac 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 in just under three hours to send the match into a deciding mixed doubles rubber.

If every match is going to be this tough, it’s going to be a tough (season).

“It’s what you expect for every match,” Ruud said as quoted by the United Cup website. “You kind of hope that it won’t be that tough, but what a way to start the new season. If every match is going to be this tough, it’s going to be a tough (season). But happy to start the new season and great to be back in Sydney. I have a lot of good memories from this particular court. I like playing here and I love playing in front of the crowd here.”

The experience of Muchova and Machac, the Olympics mixed doubles gold medallist, shone through there as they defeated Ulrikke Eikeri and Viktor Durasovic 6-4, 6-4 to give the Czechs a 2-1 victory.