Emma Navarro overcame a 5-1 deficit in the second set of the US Open quarterfinals on Tuesday to win 6-2, 7-5 against Spaniard Paula Badosa.
Navarro will reach the semifinals on Thursday. This means that the 13th-seeded American has never reached a Grand Slam tournament before. There she will face second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus), who defeated seventh-seeded Zheng Qinwen (China) 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday evening.
Navarro is the first of two Americans to advance to Tuesday’s semifinals. No. 12 seed Taylor Fritz beat No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev on Tuesday afternoon to book his place in the semifinals.
Navarro took control of the match from the start, breaking Badosa on her first serve in the opening set. She then broke Badosa again to win the set 6-2.
The match seemed headed for a third set after Badosa took control early in the second set. Badosa managed to break Navarro’s first serve of the set and then broke another on her way to a 5-1 lead. But with the New York crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium firmly behind Navarro, Navarro dominated the rest of the match.
She broke Badosa to reduce her deficit to 5-3 and won the last six games of the match, surprising the Spaniard and ending her run at the US Open. Navarro won 24 of the last 28 points to secure the victory.
Navarro said after the match that she maintained her confidence even after trailing 5-1 in the second set.
“After I came back to 5-2, I had a little inkling that it could be two sets,” Navarro told ESPN after the match. “I just wanted to stay really tough and hang in there. Even if I lost the second set, I wanted to set the tone for the third set.”
Navarro is now two wins away from a US Open title after first-round exits in each of the previous two years. Tuesday’s victory was her second consecutive win over a seeded player after she defeated reigning US Open champion and No. 3 seed American Coco Gauff in the fourth round on Sunday.
Navarro and Fritz are the first of four Americans hoping to advance to the semifinals. No. 20 seed Frances Tiafoe will face No. 9 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in prime time on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, number 6 seed Jessica Pegula will face number 1 seed and 2022 US Open champion Iga Świątek (Poland).
