American Emma Navarro produced a stunning second-set fightback to move into her first Grand Slam semifinal with a 6-2 7-5 win over Spain’s Paula Badosa as her breakout season continued at the US Open on Tuesday.
In a battle of New York-born baseliners, Navarro, who beat defending champion Coco Gauff in the previous round, stunned a suddenly error-prone Badosa by winning 24 of the last 28 points of the match to wrap up victory in 72 minutes.
Navarro admitted that she came into the match having learned plenty from her run at Wimbledon, where she also beat Gauff in the fourth round before suffering a lopsided defeat to Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals.
“I think maybe at Wimbledon I talked myself into some emotions I didn’t necessarily feel or need to feel, you know, being in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam,” said Navarro.
“So, coming out on the court here today I felt much more comfortable and yeah, I was ready to rock and I think I’m at the point in my career where I’m not scared of any result or making a run in any tournament.”
Navarro consolidated an early break to go 3-0 up and leaned on her remarkable forehand while turning aside the two break points she faced to secure the first set in convincing fashion.