Tag: Paula Badosa

Emma Navarro reached her first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open on Tuesday with a straight-sets victory over Paula Badosa whose challenge dramatically collapsed.

The 13th-ranked American, who knocked out defending champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round, triumphed 6-2, 7-5 after trailing 5-1 in the second set.

She will face either second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka or Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen for a place in the final.

“When I got to 5-2, I had an inkling that I’d win in two sets,” said Navarro who had lost in the first round on her only other two appearances at the tournament.

“Semi-finals baby. I’m ready to rock.”

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Emma Navarro, 23, swept through a 29-minute first set with breaks in the second and eighth games as a tense Badosa was undone by 16 unforced errors to the meagre five of her opponent.

The 26-year-old New York-born Spaniard hit back and raced into a 5-1 lead in the second before her game fell apart with Navarro taking the last six games of the match.

Paula Badosa, who was on the brink of retirement due to a back injury just three months ago, finished the semi-final plagued by 35 unforced errors. Navarro had just 15.

If Zheng defeats Sabalenka in her quarter-final later Tuesday, it will set up an intriguing showdown after Navarro blasted the Chinese star following her defeat at the Olympics.

Emma Navarro accused Zheng of being a “cut-throat” and of showing a “lack of respect”.

“They are both big hitters. They will come after me but I’ll be ready,” said the American.

READ: Olympic Gold medalist Djokovic stunned out of US Open

INDIAN WELLS: Spain’s Paula Badosa kept her Indian Wells WTA title defence on track Tuesday, holding off determined Canadian Leylah Fernandez to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.

Badosa, seeded fifth, saved five of the six break points she faced and kept last year’s US Open runner-up under pressure — converting three of her 12 break chances.

“Today was very tough,” said Badosa, who lifted the trophy last October in a tournament moved from its usual March date because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Leylah is an amazing player, very fast and good timing. I knew I had to fight and serve very well. I think I did that the entire match.”

Badosa is vying to become the first woman to win back-to-back Indian Wells titles since Martina Navratilova in 1990-91.

She gained the upper hand in the second set with a break for 3-2, then saved a pair of breakpoints in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead.

“In the important moments, like 4-3, down the breakpoints, I think I stayed very composed,” added Badosa, who next faces Veronica Kudermetova, a 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (5/7), 7-5 winner over Marketa Vondrousova.

World number four Iga Swiatek, the highest-ranked player remaining in the women’s field, rallied from a set down for a third straight match to book her quarter-final berth, beating crafty German veteran Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, is coming off a title in Doha last month, but the 20-year-old admitted it took her a while to figure out how to tackle Kerber – another former Grand Slam champion.

“Truth be told, I wasn’t really sure what my tactics should be if I should be more aggressive or play a more patient game,” Swiatek said. “But at the end, I think I made the right decision at right time, in the right moments of the match.”

She said Kerber showed her a different game than she’d expected after practising with the German.

“I felt like she wanted to use her experience and kind of trick me,” Swiatek said.

Swiatek next faces American Madison Keys, who beat British qualifier Harriet Dart 6-1, 6-4.

Former world number one Simona Halep of Romania seeded 24th, swept into the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over 26th-seeded compatriot Sorana Cirstea.

Halep, a two-time Grand Slam champion is in the quarters for the fifth time at Indian Wells, where she lifted the trophy in 2015.

Halep will play Petra Martic for a place in the semi-finals. Croatia’s Martic beat Liudmila Samsonova 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.

Sixth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece advanced with a victory over Australian qualifier Daria Saville, who was trailing 4-1 when she retired with a left thigh injury.

Sakkari will play Elena Rybakina, who beat Viktorija Golubic 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.

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