Janice R. Andrews
Emma Navarro of the United States came back from being down 5-1 in the second set to beat Paula Badosa of Spain 6-2, 7-5 in an amazing US Open quarterfinal on Tuesday. Navarro beats Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to move on to her first Grand Slam semifinal. There, she will play the No. 2 seed.
Navarro has already made a lot of noise with her play in this event, which is the longest run of her career in a Grand Slam. Even though the second set was tough, the 13th-seeded American showed strength and determination by winning 24 of the last 28 points to win the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
The Amazing Comeback of Navarro
Navarro got off to a great start in the match, breaking Badosa’s serve right away and staying in charge for the whole first set. Fast and easily, she won the set 6-2, putting herself in a good situation. In the second set, though, Badosa picked up the pace and broke Navarro’s serve twice to take a 5-1 lead.
It looked like there would be a third set, but Navarro found her groove again with the New York crowd behind her. When the score got down to 5-3, she broke Badosa’s serve and went on to win the next six games, shocking her Spanish opponent. The crowd went wild as Navarro took advantage of her chances and showed how mentally tough she was.
Navarro talked about how she felt after the match. She told ESPN, “After I got it back to 5-2, I kind of had a little inkling that it might be two sets.” It was all I could do to stay tough and keep going.
A match in the semifinals with Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka, ranked second in the world, beat Zheng Qinwen of China easily on Tuesday night (6-1, 6-2). Navarro’s next opponent will be Sabalenka. Sabalenka’s strong play makes her a tough opponent for Navarro, but Navarro is very confident after recent wins over top-seeded players, including Coco Gauff, the current US Open winner.
This match is a big deal for Navarro because she needs to keep showing what she can do on the world stage after losing early in the US Opens. She now needs just two more wins to possibly win her first Grand Slam title.
A Good Day for Tennis in the US
American tennis fans had more than one reason to be happy on Tuesday besides Navarro’s win. It was an exciting match, but No. 12 seed Taylor Fritz beat No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev to make it to the semifinals. Also, Frances Tiafoe made it into the semifinals later that night, which means that an American man will play in a Grand Slam final for the first time since 2009 .
As things heat up, tennis fans in the United States will be eager to see if both Navarro and Fritz can keep winning. It looks like more American wins are coming soon at the US Open. On Wednesday, Jessica Pegula will play world No. 1 Iga Świątek.
