US Open

Navarro in a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time

Emma Navarro(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Local heroine Emma Navarro has reached the semi-finals of the US Open after a duel between two New York-born players. Seeded No. 13, the 23-year-old defeated Paula Badosa (No. 26) 6:2, 7:5 in the first singles quarter-final on Wednesday. 

The Spaniard had been close to reaching a deciding set in set three when leading 5:1, but then completely lost the thread and lost six games in a row. This will be US-American Navarro's first Grand Slam semi-final.

She already had a hunch at 2:5 in the second set, as Julia Grabher's Olympic champion revealed in the winner's interview: "When I made it 2:5, I had a hunch that it would be two sets. It's crazy that I'm in the semi-finals." It was the second Major quarter-final for both Badosa and Navarro. For the Iberian, it will be the 2021 French Open, while Navarro's only previous appearance is at Wimbledon this year. She has already had her strongest year on the tour to date, winning her first WTA title in Hobart in January.

Until this year's French Open, Navarro had never made it past the first round at Grand Slam tournaments, and in two US Open appearances she had finished in round one. Thanks to this success, she will move into the top ten of the world rankings for the first time next Monday. She also beat defending champion Coco Gauff in the round of 16 at Flushing Meadows at the weekend. Her next opponent will be the number two seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (2) or the Chinese Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen (7).