Quote of the Day: Look out for Karolina Muchova, on a surface she actually prefers

WATCH: Iga Swiatek defeats Karolina Muchova in the 2023 Roland Garros final

Unseeded Karolina Muchova pulled off stunner after stunner during her breakthrough run to the final at Roland Garros, where she came up short to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the final.

A year after her tearful withdrawal from this Grand Slam due to a brutal ankle injury, Muchova came full circle with a win over No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari and saved match point during her upset over world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. On Saturday, Muchova became the first player to take a set off defending champion Swiatek in a Grand Slam final during her 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 defeat.

“It's a very big motivation, now that I know that Iga is World No. 1 and I was so close. I think now that I can do it,” Muchova told press after the match. “Obviously I know it's not like just like that (snapping fingers). It's a lot of work and effort to do, but I'm willing to take that.”

For Muchova, who now owns a 5-1 record against the WTA’s Top 5, the only surprise was that all of this happened on clay at Roland Garros:

Q: Having achieved this on clay, I just wonder how much confidence will that give you for other surfaces—and especially going on to Wimbledon, where you have a really good record?

KAROLINA MUCHOVA: Yeah... I wouldn't expect it that much on the clay, honestly. I look forward to playing on the grass, on the fast surfaces, that's for sure the surfaces I prefer and I like more.

So yeah, I look forward to that, that I played a final on the clay. It's just nice to know that I can play on the clay great as well.

This was my last clay tournament. It could have end up a little bit better, but it was still pretty great. I look forward to playing now on the grass (smiling).

That’s a prospect that should make her opponents shudder. Muchova has amassed two quarterfinal finishes at Wimbledon, and her lone WTA title came on the outdoor hardcourts of Seoul in 2019. Roland Garros had been the only Grand Slam where Muchova had not been past the third round. Now that she’s unlocked a new facet to her game and with her confidence levels sky high, Muchova is poised to become the ultimate all-surface, big match threat.

“Obviously I'm a little sad, but even now I can look at this tournament. You know, I gave my everything on the court today, so I have nothing to regret,” Muchova said.

Muchova will rise to a new career-high ranking of world No. 16 when the rankings are released on Monday.