LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 07: Emma Navarro of the United States celebrates defeating Coco Gauff of the United States in the fourth round on Day Seven of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 07, 2024 in London, England (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)
(July 7, 2024) In a battle between Americans, No. 19 Emma Navarro upset No. 2 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round of Wimbledon 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday on Centre Court to reach the final eight. Navarro has won 33 WTA Tour level matches so far this year, one of only six players to do this this year.
“Feeling really good,” Navarro said in her post-match news conference. “Played some good tennis today, for sure. Faced a really tough opponent, a Grand Slam champ. I’m excited to keep playing.” Navarro was the 2021 NCAA singles champion out of the University of Virginia. “In college, the format is you play a single match in a week,” Navarro said. “It’s just you versus your opponent on that given day. There’s no rounds. You can’t work your way into a tournament, build confidence or whatever. You just are playing one specific opponent on one specific day.”
“I think that mindset has definitely helped me just not to look at a day like today as any different than any other match. I think, yeah, just being able to look at individual matches for what they are and not make them anything greater than that.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 07: Coco Gauff of the United States in action against Emma Navarro of the United States in the fourth round on Day Seven of The Championships Wimbledon 2024 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 07, 2024 in London, England (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)
“I really wanted to attack her forehand,” Navarro said. “I think she wanted to do the same to me. We found ourselves in a lot of forehand cross-court rallies. It was kind of a cat-and-mouse, who’s going to change the pattern first.
“I love matches like that where it feels like it’s not just a hitting or striking competition, there’s strategy involved. It feels like a chess match or something. That was really enjoyable for me.”
“We had a game plan going in, and I felt that it wasn’t working,” Gauff said. “I don’t always ask for advice from the box, but today was one of those rare moments where I felt I didn’t have solutions.” Navarro will face No. 7 seed Italian Jasmine Paolini who won over No. 12 Madison Keys when the American retired with a thigh injury with the match even at 6-3, 6-7, 5-5. Navarro has a 3-0 record against the Italian.
“I don’t want to say I didn’t have any (solutions), because I think I’m capable of coming up with some. Today, mentally, there was a lot going on. I felt like I wanted more direction.”
Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion lost to New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 ahead of the Navarro – Gauff match. Sun will play unseeded Donna Vekic for a spot in the semifinals.
“It was a great match against her,” Sun said. “I really had to fight tooth and nail against her.
“I’m just incredibly, I don’t even have the words right now.”
“I think staying aggressive was definitely a key point to the match. It worked well because getting her to move and getting her on the defense was what I wanted because as soon as she gets aggressive on her side, then the chance gets smaller for me.”
In men’s action Carlos Alcaraz, the 3rd seed advanced with a four-set win over Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5, while No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner knocked out 14th seed Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (9). Also advancing to the final eight were No. 13 Tommy Paul and Daniil Medvedev.
