Tennis-Arthur Ashe quote helps Muchova battle through illness at US Open

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A quote by tennis great Arthur Ashe was on Karolina Muchova's mind as she fought through illness to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals on Wednesday.

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

The words are written above the players' entrance at the stadium named after him in New York, and Muchova took them to heart as she received treatment during medical breaks in her 6-1 6-4 win over Beatriz Haddad Maia.

"It's written here on the court, like, you know, Ashe's thing... do what you can with all you have today or something like that. So I was keeping that in mind," Muchova said, adding that she was fighting "a little bug."

Muchova, the only unseeded player in the semi-finals, was grabbing her hip between points and left the court with the physio during the second set.

"It never happened to me before, but I really needed to go off the court when I get a chance to go," the 28-year-old Czech said. "I don't like to do it, but I had no other choice."

Muchova will next face sixth seed Jessica Pegula, who knocked out world number one Iga Swiatek. The two played each other in the Cincinnati Open last month, with Pegula winning in three sets.

"We played on the parking lot in Cincinnati... tough battle," Muchova said. "It was very tough to play there, but she's just great player, playing very deep in the court, good mover. She didn't give me one point for free."

(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)