By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Sunday, September 1, 2024

NEW YORK—Coco Gauff turned Arthur Ashe Stadium into a bounce house soaring to the 2023 US Open crown.

Today, New York native Emma Navarro home-schooled an erratic Gauff for her biggest Grand Slam triumph.

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A sharp Navarro exploited 19 double faults from Gauff dethroning the defending champion 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to charge into her maiden US Open quarterfinal.



In her Arthur Ashe Stadium debut, Navarro looked like a woman who grew up on the big stage handling the occasion—and the defending champion—with assertive composure.

It is Navarro’s second straight Slam win over Gauff following her 6-4, 6-3 sweep in the Wimbledon fourth round in July.

“It’s pretty insane I lost in the first round the last two years now to be making the quarterfinals is pretty insane,” Navarro told Mary Joe Fernandez afterward. “This is the city I was born in—it feels so special to be playing here.

“Coco is an amazing player. I have so much respect for her. I know she’s gonna come back and win this thing again one year.”

Gauff’s loss means we will see a ninth different woman in the last 10 years raise the US Open title trophy next Saturday. Serena Williams, who was in Ashe Stadium today as a spectator drawing a rousing ovation from fans, is the last woman to successfully defend the US Open a decade ago.

The 13th-seeded Navarro attacked the Gauff flaky forehand return relentlessly and straddled the baseline pressuring the champion’s sometime shaky second serve.

"Mentally I gave it and emotionally I gave it my all," Gauff said. "Of course, there were things execution-wise, where I was like, obviously I wish I could serve better. I think if I would have did that, it would have been a different story for me in the match.

"But Emma played really well. She did, I mean, everything well I thought. She was really aggressive on my second serve, so putting more pressure on my serve and being solid from the baseline. I mean, I expected that going in.

"So emotionally I have no regrets, but obviously I wish I could execute things better."



Self-sabotage contributed to Gauff’s demise this summer and in this match.

For all the focus on the Gauff forehand, today her second serve completely unraveled at crunch time.

Decelerating on that second serve, Gauff committed 11 of her 19 double faults in the final set.

In a serving horror show, Gauff served just 37 percent in the last set. Navarro won 15 of the 22 points played on her compatriot’s second serve in the decider.

In some matches this season when her forehand failed her, Gauff relied on her bold backhand, blistering speed and fiery first serve to bail her out. Today, Gauff couldn't land the big serve when she needed it most in the final set, and like the deposed men's champion, Novak Djokovic, the double faults piled up as the pressure escalated. 

Ultimately, Hobart champion Navarro played with more control and self-belief powering into her second straight Slam quarterfinal.

The 23-year-old Navarro, who was born in New York City and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, will face former Indian Wells champion Paula Badosa for a semifinal spot.

Earlier, the 26th-seeded Badosa blitzed Yafan Wang 6-1, 6-2 to become the first Spanish woman to reach the US Open quarterfinals since retired Carla Suarez Navarro did it back in 2018.

In their lone prior meeting on Rome's red clay last May, Badosa beat Navarro 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

In a pulsating all-American atmosphere, Navarro played with more poise and patience at the start. Navarro rattling out the first break at 15 for a 4-2 lead and ratcheted up the pressure forcing Gauff to play from behind..

One of the few women in the world he can run with Gauff and showed it. Reading the direction of a Gauff drive, Navarro slid a backhand strike down the line as she backed up the break for 5-2.

The 13th-seeded Navarro wisely targeted Gauff’s sometime fragile forehand wing and drew several forehand return errors on the deuce side.

A confident Navarro bookended the first set with love holds to go up one set.

Deadlocked at 3-all in the second set, Navarro attacked and carved out a brilliant volley winner to open the seventh game.

A jittery Gauff netted a double fault to face break point.

On a second serve, Navarro held her ground, ran down a Gauff drop shot then spun a clean forehand winner down the line breaking for 4-3.

When Navartto took a 4-3, 30-love lead in the ensuing game, the defending champion desperately needed to make a stand.

Leaning into her two hander, Gauff bulleted a backhand down the middle for just her second break point all day.

A calm Navarro erased it. But Gauff attacked behind a forehand and drew an errant pass for another break point. When Navarro dumped her first double fault of the day, Gauff gained her first break to level after eight games.

“Make her play!” coach Brad Gilbert yelled at Gauff.

The third seed complied.

Digging down deep, Gauff was striking drives that danced near the baseline as she tore through eight of the final 10 points to snatch the second set and force a decider.

Gauff won six of six trips to net in that second set.

New York native Navarro earned the first break point of the final set when Gauff looped a forehand wide in the third game. Navarro stepped in trying to attack an 87 mph second serve, but framed a forehand return off her Yonex racquet.

Feeling the stress, Gauff hit her 10th double fault into the net to face a second break point. A gutsy Gauff attacked and slithered a slick forehand volley winner to save it.

That was a short-lived reprieve as the left side of Gauff’s body collapsed on serve and she struggled to gain net clearance on some jittery second deliveries.

As the game waged on past six minutes, Gauff gagged on successive double faults—her second and third of the game—gift-wrapping the break and a 2-1 lead to Navarro.

The Delray Beach-born baseliner is a fierce competitor, but when you give up nearly five games worth of double faults to a player of Navarro’s quality, you’re basically sealing your own demise.

"She played me similar to how she played me at Wimbledon. The difference in Wimbledon and today, I think I was just mentally better, so that's why I got to the third set," Gauff said. "I think in the future I have to take care of my serve. She's a great returner. I think she does a great job with just redirecting. She's kind of an all-court player. She can do everything.

"So I don't think she changed how she played me from Wimbledon to now. So, yeah, I think for me it was just all on my end of the court. Obviously she's a great player."

Connecting on her first serves, Navarro cruised through a love hold confirming the break at love for 3-1.

Running rallies intensified when Navarro stepped inside the baseline and scalded a short-angled backhand winner for a 40-15 lead in the eighth game. The Gauff forehand failed her again as Navarro held firm for 5-3.

Serving to extend the match, Gauff clanked her 19th double fault to hand Navarro match point.



Navarro hit a deep return down the line drawing one final error to end it in two hours, 12 minutes. Navarro showed class and respect for the deposed champion at net with a heart-felt embrace and no extensive celebration.

Both defending champions Gauff and Novak Djokovic failed to reach Labor Day, while Navarro looks like a woman eager to finish this major job.

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“It was tough losing the second set,” Navarro said. “I had chances I was up 30-love 4-3 and then had a little bit of a lull there and was able to regroup and come into the third set with an aggressive mind set. Thank you everyone. Go New York!”