Emma Navarro came from a 5-1 deficit in the second set to win 6-2, 7-5 over Spain’s Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals of the US Open on Tuesday.
Navarro advances to Thursday’s semifinals, the deepest run the 13th-seeded American has ever made in a Grand Slam tournament. There, she will face second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who defeated seventh-seeded Zheng Qinwen of China 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday night.
Navarro is the first of two Americans to advance to the semifinals on Tuesday. Twelfth-seeded Taylor Fritz defeated fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev on Tuesday afternoon to secure his ticket to the semifinals.
Navarro took control of the match early, breaking Badosa on the first serve of the opening set, then breaking Badosa again to win the set, 6-2.
The match seemed destined for a third set after Badosa took early control of the second set. Badosa broke Navarro’s first serve of the set and then broke her again en route to a 5-1 lead. But with the New York crowd firmly behind Navarro in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Navarro dominated the remainder of the match.
She broke Badosa to reduce her deficit to 5-3 en route to winning the last six games of the match to stun the Spaniard and end her run at the US Open. Navarro won 24 of the last 28 points to secure the win.
Navarro said after the match that she had maintained her confidence even after trailing 5-1 in the second set.
“After I got it back to 5-2, I kind of had a feeling it was going to be straight sets,” Navarro told ESPN after the match. “I just wanted to stay really strong and stay in it. Even if I lost the second set, I wanted to set the tone for the third set.”
Navarro is now just two wins shy of a US Open title, having been knocked out in the first round the past two years. Tuesday’s victory was her second straight over a seeded player, after she defeated reigning US Open champion and third-seeded American Coco Gauff in the fourth round on Sunday.
Navarro and Fritz are the first of four Americans hoping to advance to the semifinals. 20th-seeded Frances Tiafoe is scheduled to face 9th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in prime time Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula will face top-seeded and 2022 US Open winner Iga Świątek (Poland).
