Emma Navarro has done it again.
Navarro held on Sunday afternoon and took advantage of a struggling Coco Gauff to eliminate the reigning US Open champion and Olympic teammate in her first-ever match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Navarro beat Gauff 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the fourth round to earn a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time in her career. She also matches her best Grand Slam result.
“It’s pretty crazy. I’ve lost in the first round the last two years, and now to reach the quarterfinals, it’s pretty crazy,” Navarro said on the court after his victory. “This is my hometown 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 tournament again one year.”
After Gauff held her own early in the match, Navarro took the lead to win the first set in dominant fashion and take the lead. Navarro took a 4-2 lead in the first set after a series of double faults from Gauff before closing out the first set 6-3.
Navarro, who was playing her first match at Arthur Ashe, held on early in the second set. She took a 4-3 lead after winning three straight points to earn the break, which allowed her to advance to the quarterfinals.
Eventually, Gauff took over. She tied the set after Navarro double-faulted, then won 12 of the last 15 points to tie the game and force a third set.
Navarro got the break early in the final set, however, after Gauff committed her 12th double fault of the afternoon. Gauff committed three double faults in the last four points of the third game and found herself trailing 3-1 early on. Gauff’s struggles continued as she tried to claw her way back into the match, and she committed three more double faults as Navarro took a 4-3 lead in the final set. From there, Navarro quickly finished the remainder of the match to claim victory and reach her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Gauff committed 19 double faults during the match, including 11 in the final set. She also made 60 unforced errors.
Navarro had also knocked Gauff out in the fourth round at Wimbledon earlier this summer, though she was eliminated in the quarterfinals in London by Italy’s Jasmine Paolini. Gauff had to rally to even advance to Sunday’s match against Navarro, too. She stormed back to beat Elina Svitolina after dropping 11 straight points in the first set of their match on Friday. Her victory there marked her 12th match win at a Grand Slam after dropping an opening set since her debut in 2019 and her 60th major match win before her 21st birthday — something only five other American women have done in history.
Navarro will now face Spain’s Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals. Badosa beat China’s Yafan Wang 6-1, 6-2 in their fourth-round match earlier Sunday.