Within the quarterfinals on Tuesday at Flushing Meadows, Navarro staged a outstanding comeback in opposition to Paula Badosa. After trailing within the second set, she reeled off six consecutive video games to safe a 6-2, 7-5 victory.This spectacular win adopted her earlier upset of the defending champion, Coco Gauff.
“Typically you’re out within the court docket, and you may form of image your self taking part in a 3rd set. Once I was on the market, I didn’t image myself taking part in a 3rd set,” Navarro stated, as quoted by AP. “I felt like … I may come again and do it in two.”
Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, secured an easy 6-1, 6-2 victory in opposition to No. 7 Zheng Qinwen, who just lately claimed the gold medal on the Paris Olympics. The match was a repeat of the Australian Open ultimate earlier this yr, the place Sabalenka triumphed over Zheng to clinch her second straight title in Melbourne.
With tennis legend Roger Federer watching from the stands, making his first look on the US Open since retiring, Sabalenka showcased her signature highly effective sport to succeed in the semifinals in New York for the fourth consecutive yr. Final yr, she completed because the runner-up to Gauff.
When requested how she plans to win over among the 1000’s of followers to assist her in opposition to the American Navarro, the 26-year-old Belarusian playfully remarked, “Drinks on me!”
Sabalenka is aiming to change into the primary lady since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to seize each the Australian Open and US Open hard-court main titles in the identical yr.
The remaining semifinal matchups will likely be decided on Wednesday, with No. 1 Iga Swiatek going through No. 6 Jessica Pegula, and No. 22 Beatriz Haddad Maia taking over unseeded Karolina Muchova.
Taylor Fritz, the Twelfth-seeded American, achieved a major milestone on Tuesday by securing his maiden semifinal look at a Grand Slam match. Within the males’s quarterfinals, Fritz overcame Alexander Zverev, the 2020 US Open runner-up and fourth seed, with a hard-fought 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory.
Previous to this breakthrough, Fritz had struggled in Grand Slam quarterfinals, having misplaced all 4 of his earlier encounters at this stage. Nonetheless, he managed to show the tables on Zverev, whom he had additionally defeated within the fourth spherical of Wimbledon earlier this yr.
“I’ve had quite a lot of appears at quarterfinals over the past couple of years and at the moment simply felt totally different,” Fritz stated. “I actually felt prefer it was my time to take it a step additional.”
Frances Tiafoe confronted a vital match in opposition to No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday evening, with the prospect to safe a 3rd semifinal spot for the US. A victory for the No. 20 seed would arrange an all-American conflict with the Twelfth-seeded Taylor Fritz within the semifinals on Friday.
“That could possibly be loopy, so I assume we’ll see what occurs,” Fritz stated, “however both manner I’ll be able to go.”
Navarro discovered herself in a precarious place, simply three factors away from being compelled right into a decisive third set in opposition to Badosa. Nonetheless, she showcased her resilience and dedication by profitable the following 4 factors, successfully protecting her hopes alive within the match.
This marked the start of a outstanding turnaround, as Navarro went on to dominate the rest of the competition, securing a formidable 24 out of the final 28 factors performed.
“Issues weren’t wanting nice there within the second set, however simply tried to be actually robust, stick in there, make her hit another ball,” Navarro stated. “I felt like if I may scrap out just a few longer factors, perhaps put some strain on her, I felt like I may come again and perhaps shut it out in two units. Pleased with how I used to be ready to try this.”
Navarro’s efficiency at her house main this yr was unprecedented, as she had by no means beforehand secured a victory in the primary draw.
Badosa overtly admitted to fighting the immense strain that accompanied her pursuit of reaching the semifinal stage of a Grand Slam for the primary time, candidly referring to herself as a “catastrophe” throughout this difficult interval.
“I by no means had the momentum on this match. I performed 4 or 5 video games OK. It was 5-1, however I by no means felt myself on the court docket,” Badosa stated. “I misplaced, I don’t know, 20 factors virtually in a row. It’s very bizarre for me as a result of I’m fairly a constant participant, so I wasn’t anticipating that both.”
Navarro, who beforehand defeated Gauff within the fourth spherical at Wimbledon, suffered a swift 6-2, 6-1 loss to eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini within the following spherical, with the match concluding in beneath 60 minutes.
Nonetheless, the Virginia alumna, who clinched the 2021 NCAA singles title, got here ready for this encounter between two New Yorkers. She shortly gained the higher hand, securing the primary three video games and capitalizing on a possibility offered by Badosa within the latter phases of the match.
With this victory, Navarro joined an unique group of 5 different gamers up to now 4 a long time who’ve reached the US Open semifinals and not using a prior main-draw win within the match. This record options current champions similar to Bianca Andreescu, who achieved the feat in 2019, and Emma Raducanu, who completed the identical in 2021.
