US Open: Emma Navarro holds on to beat defending champion Coco Gauff and reach the quarter-finals

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US Open: Emma Navarro holds on to beat defending champion Coco Gauff and reach the quarter-finals

Emma Navarro has done it again.

Navarro held on Sunday afternoon and took advantage of a struggling Coco Gauff to eliminate the defending US Open champion at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Navarro beat Gauff 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in their fourth round match to secure a place in the quarterfinals for the first time in his career. This also matches his best Grand Slam result.

“It’s pretty crazy. I lost in the first round the last two years, and now to reach the quarterfinals is pretty crazy,” Navarro said on court after his victory. “This is the city I was born in and it’s so special to play here.

“Coco is an incredible player and I have a lot of respect for her. I know she’s going to come back here and win this game again one year.”

After Gauff held his own early in their match, Navarro surged ahead to score a dominant first set victory and take the lead. Navarro jumped to 4-2 in the first after a series of double faults from Gauff before closing the first set 6-3.

Navarro also held strong to start the second set. She took a 4-3 lead after winning three straight points to secure the break, which put her on the verge of advancing to the quarterfinals.

Finally, Gauff came to life. She tied the set after Navarro lost on a double fault, then she won 12 of 15 points to tie the match and force a third set.

Navarro, however, got the break at the start of the final set, after Gauff committed his 12th double fault of the afternoon. Gauff committed three double faults in the last four points of the third game and immediately fell behind 3-1. Gauff’s struggles continued as she tried to fight back, and she committed three more double faults as Navarro surged to a 4-3 lead in the final set. From there, Navarro quickly closed out the rest of the match to earn the victory and reach his second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Gauff committed 19 double faults in the match, including 11 in the final set. She also committed 60 unforced errors.

Navarro knocked out Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon earlier this summer, although she was eliminated from the quarterfinals in London by Italian Jasmine Paolini.

Gauff had to rally to participate in Sunday’s game against Navarro. She came back strong to beat Elina Svitolina after dropping 11 straight points in the first set of their match on Friday. Her victory there marked her 12th victory in a Grand Slam match after losing a first set since her debut in 2019 and her 60th victory in a major match before her 21st birthday, something only five other American women have done.

Navarro will now face Spaniard Paula Badosa in the quarter-finals. Badosa beat China’s Yafan Wang 6-1, 6-2 in his fourth-round match earlier Sunday.

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