Muchova’s reward for her resilience is a meeting with Linda Noskova in the first all-Czech Grand Slam final.

The pair will take to Centre Court on Saturday (16:00 BST) aiming to clinch the first major singles title of their careers.

“I admired the bravery of Karolina Muchova, she earned the win, she took the bull by the horns and went for it,” said Croft.

Gauff, meanwhile, will have to process just how she missed the chance to reach her first grass-court final at the All England Club.

“I just feel so bad for Coco because she kept fighting, fighting, fighting and finally gets to the match point and then didn’t get it,” Navratilova said.

“Both players played great tennis getting to the tie-break, both players got very nervous at the end and then Muchova got through.

“You wanted both to win at this point, but unbelievable stuff. My heart was racing and I was just sitting here.”