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South Carolina’s Emma Navarro reached the semifinal of the U.S. Open women’s singles bracket – putting her just two wins away from her first-ever major championship.
Navarro defeated Spain’s Paula Badosa in straight sets on Tuesday (September 3, 2024) to punch her first-ever ticket to a Grand Slam semifinal. Navarro bested Badosa 6-2, 7-5 to continue an impressive run that recently saw her upset last year’s champion, 20-year-old Coco Gauff of Atlanta.
Navarro was down 5-1 in the second set before rallying for the victory over Badosa.
“After I got it back to 5-2, I had a little bit of inkling that it might be two sets,” Navarro said after the match. “I just wanted to stay really tough and stick in there. I can’t see the future, but maybe today I could a little bit!”
“I felt like she wasn’t totally confident in her ability to close out that set,” Navarro added. “So I felt if I could push back a little bit and make her think a little bit on her service game, maybe I could sneak my way back in there.”
Which is exactly the way it played out…
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Hanahan, South Carolina-
— Trooper Bob (@TrooperBob_SC) September 12, 2024
WOW! A viewer tells me her dad took these pictures. This fell out of the sky and onto the parking lot of Divine Redeemer School in Hanahan around 4pm today.
?: H. Nguyen @ABCNews4
Update: A military pilot tells me that’s a rear tail cone off a C-17.… pic.twitter.com/o2J8eewbRp
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So, does Navarro’s future include a Grand Slam title?
She’s certainly proven herself capable of competing against – and beating – the world’s best.
Earlier in the tournamant she defeated Gauff – the No. 3 player in the world, according to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) – in a thrilling three-set match, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
She will play either Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen – the No. 7 player in the world – or Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the second-ranked player in the world, in the semi-final on Thursday. Navarro has battled both in recent matches, upsetting Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 at the Indian Wells Open in March for her first career win against a top five opponent. Sabalenka bounced back, though, defeating Navarro 6-2, 6-3 in the fourth round of the French Open.
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As for Zheng, Navarro had her at match point in the third round of their epic Olympic battle but ultimately fell to the eventual gold medal winner 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-1.
Navarro, 23, was born in New York City but resides in Charleston and previously attended Ashley Hall, a prominent private academy. After originally committing to Duke, she ultimately decided to play collegiate tennis at the University of Virginia, where she won the NCAA women’s singles title as a freshman. Navarro went 51-3 in two seasons at Virginia before turning professional.
Since turning pro, Navarro has soared in the WTA rankings – cracking the top 200 in March of 2022, the top 100 last May and climbing to No. 12 this week.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
PQV!