With Ashleigh Barty winning the first set of her quarterfinal against Karolina Muchova in just 24 minutes, the Czech's run at the Australian Open seemed over. Instead, Muchova dug in, and pulled off a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 upset of the world No. 1.

"I think it's a goal you're setting up when you're playing tennis," Muchova said. "For me, at least, it's the majors, the Grand Slams, to go far. For me to be in semifinal, as you said, it's like a dream and I'm really happy for that."

She had dreamed of Rod Laver Arena, in particular

"I actually have one memory from here when I was a kid and got my first notebook," the world No. 27 said. "I put as a wallpaper Rod Laver, the stadium. I was just, like, I hope one day it would be nice to play there or to look at the arena or whatever."

It marks the first time Muchova has been this far at a Grand Slam, having previously been to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2019. Like every winner in Melbourne Park, Muchova took to the camera with a sharpie, and her artwork left people puzzled:

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Was it a bug? A peace sign? A secret message? The 24-year-old explained it in press.

"It's actually not a bug, but everyone thinks it's a bug. I'm not really a good drawing," Muchova said.

She explained that her coach isn't in Melbourne, so she's been communicating with her team via WhatsApp. The symbol she drew is the African sign "Wawa Aba" and it's the picture icon for their group.

Muchova embraces 
toughness in Aussie 
Open run

Muchova embraces toughness in Aussie Open run

"It means like a heartiness and toughness," she said. "And I draw it to tell them 'Hi' back [in] Czech."

According to Adrinkra Symbols, it means the seed of the wawa tree, which is extremely hard, so Wawa Aba is the "symbol of hardness, strength, toughness, endurance, durability, and so on."

Muchova will need all fo those traits when she takes on Jennifer Brady for a spot in the final.