Tennis
Emma Navarro crashes out of Wimbledon after victory over Coco Gauff
Emma Navarro has been ousted from Wimbledon after her upset victory over Coco Gauff.
The rising American tennis player lost 6-2, 6-1 to world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The run is nonetheless her best Grand Slam performance to date.
Navarro, now the women’s no. 17, had shocked the American tennis world with her victory over No. 2 Gauff on Sunday.
Navarro took down her fellow American in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, in front of the crowd at Center Court.
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But that momentum came to a halt on Tuesday when Paolini became the first Italian woman to make the Wimbledon semifinals.
Before this year Paolini had never won a match on grass, or gone beyond the second round of a major tournament.
‘It’s amazing to get the win on this special court and I’m so happy to be in the semi-final,’ she said.
‘It’s so special, a dream to be here in this position. I was watching finals on this court when I was a kid, it’s strange to be here.’
The New Yorker Navarro drew first blood in the match, the breaking serve to lead 2-1 in the opening set.
But Paolini, visibly irritated at herself, hit straight back to embark on a run of six games in a row, wrapping up the opening set and holding at the start of the second.
Navarro stopped the bleeding in the next and then began unleashing her fearsome forehand to bring up a break point.
It was an encouraging game from Navarro, but Paolini wriggled out of it and from that point onwards the 19th seed did not get another sniff.
The victory was wrapped up in only 58 minutes and Paolini will now face world No. 37 Donna Vekic in the semifinals.