Grazing the top of the net can be brutal for a player, and Victoria Mboko learned that once against in her quarterfinal match of the Miami Open against Karolina Muchova. With the first set tied at 5-all and with Mboko serving, Muchova hit a return that tapped the top of the net and fell over so that the Canadian could not return the ball. Muchova broke on the next point.
After each player had held with force through the first 10 games, the break was seemingly all that Muchova needed to change the narrative of the match, and except for accidentally hitting the top of the net, she might not have been in such an advantageous position. Good players make their own luck, of course.
Mboko is a good player, too, obviously, but Muchova's experience might have helped her slightly in the more high-stress points of the first set. The question was how quickly Mboko could adjust and take back control of the match. She needed to create her own luck in set two.
Karolina Muchova squeaks by Victoria Mboko at the 2026 Miami Open
She couldn't while Muchova was serving in the second set, but the Czech couldn't take advantage either. The match was tight throughout, with both coming up huge when they needed to in set two to keep holding. At 6-all, Mboko needed an early spark to try to force a third set.
Instead, she lost the opening point on her serve when Karolina Muchova was able to position herself in the middle of the court and had the capability of beating the Canadian to either side. The Czech then held his next two points, and her 3-0 lead seemed insurmountable. This was compounded by Mboko dropping a point on her next service point, too.
The Canadian fought back to get to 5-6 on her serve, but Muchova finished off the tie-break 7-5 with a brilliant drop shot. She was playing like a top-five player.
Victoria Mboko isn't going to win the 2026 Miami Open, of course, but she played well enough to build confidence for future Masters 1000s and Grand Slams. She is a good player getting ever better, and she will be a threat to other top players for years to come.
As for Karolina Muchova, she will next face the winner of the Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic match in the semifinals. No matter who wins that match, the ending on the women's side of the Miami Open is shaping up to be brilliant.