US Open star stalked by ex-boyfriend as he turns up at match and startles player

Karolina Muchova came through a two-hour and 55-minute marathon on Thursday to book her spot in the third round of the US Open. The No. 11 seed defeated Sorana Cirstea 7-6(0) 6-7(3) 6-4.

There were concerns early in the opening set when Muchova suddenly became distressed, and the umpire had to check on her. And the Czech star has now revealed that her ex-boyfriend rocked up at her match and sat directly opposite her bench.

Muchova trailed Cirstea 1-4 in the opening set when she started gesturing to the stands, and chair umpire Alison Hughes asked whether she was okay.

The 29-year-old eventually regrouped and managed to take the opening set in a tiebreak, and she later addressed the startling interruption.

"There was something there. I'm happy with how I handled it. The first set was a little harder for me to concentrate, but then I got back into the rhythm and fought for every ball," the two-time US Open semi-finalist told Czech media.

"It's not about tennis, so I don't like to talk about it. But my ex-boyfriend, who sometimes appears in places where he shouldn't be and where I am, sat down opposite my bench.

"So it scared me a little, but I asked him if he could leave. He didn't go, but then he left. It was hard for me to concentrate on tennis at that moment."

Muchova did well to overcome the distressing incident, and she's now through to the third round to face countrywoman Linda Noskova.

It's not the first time the world No. 13 has had a match disrupted by an unwanted spectator. Muchova was playing Emma Raducanu in Dubai earlier this year when a "fixated spectator" turned up at their match.

The Brit was in tears as she cowered behind the umpire's chair. The spectator was removed from the stands and, in a statement, the WTA later said: "On Monday, February 17, Emma Raducanu was approached in a public area by a man who exhibited fixated behaviour.

"This same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma's match on Tuesday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and subsequently ejected. He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment."

According to iSport.cz, Muchova's team does not plan to deal with her US Open incident in the same way.

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