Karolina Muchova's brilliant touch has been the talk of the US Open all week, but Anastasia Potapova showed that the Czech wasn't the only one able to pull off ridiculous hot shots during their third-round match.
US Open: Scores | Draw | Order of play
Momentum swung back and forth between the two over the course of 17 strokes in this point, and Muchova appeared to have finally gained the upper hand when she pounced on a short Potapova ball to move up to net. But Potapova sped across the court, flung herself at Muchova's volley, and managed to crack a bullet of a pass down the line.
Muchova went on to win 6-4, 6-2, but Potapova's showing this week marks an uptick in the 23-year-old's fortunes. Having endured a five-match losing streak between June and August, she reached her second semifinal of 2024 last week in Cleveland, and backed it up with a career-best US Open performance.
Potapova has shown previous form for strokes of genius from defensive positions. In the first round of Ostrava 2021, she came up with an absurd sidespun winner to flummox Caroline Garcia.
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