WIMBLEDON — The bullet whistled Coco Gauffshoulder and a few seconds later his hand was over her mouth.
It was Emma Navarro, the 23-year-old American who has just won the NCAA singles title for three years, who just smashed a forehand passing shot down the baseline to win the first set of their fourth-round matchup 6-4. About 40 minutes later, it was Navarro’s turn to run out of steam, wrapping up a stunning 6-4, 6-3 victory to eliminate the world No. 2, the American No. 1 and one of the current favorites for the title. Wimbledon title which will be awarded on Saturday July 13.
For Gauff, the loss is a major disappointment. She easily cruised past her first three opponents and saw many other major title threats fall apart in the first week of the tournament, including Iga Swiatekthe world number 1.
After a tight first set that swung on the last two points, including this magnificent pass, the defending US Open champion collapsed in the fourth game of the second set. So confident on her serve during the first 12 games, she suddenly became hesitant, hesitant; throwing the ball once then twice; committing double faults and committing forehand errors on shots usually easy for her, who has long been shaky at times in difficult moments.
Two games later, she was in open conflict with her coach, Brad Gilbert, clutching his arms in exasperation as she sat in her chair during a change of ends, pleading with him. “Tell me something,” she said from across the court. “Tell me something,” as she returned to the court to serve.
She would win that game and then turn to Gilbert for more advice, then walk away frustrated. When Gilbert caught her eye again, he could be seen telling her to put more loop on her forehand and fight for every point, key elements of the formula that won her the U.S. Open last September, when she turned her matches into long-distance track meets and outplayed every opponent.
After helping Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi reach the top of tennis before leaving coaching to focus primarily on his television work, Gilbert returned a year ago to work with Gauff. He did so, precisely, to be exactly where he was Sunday night: in the coaches’ box on Wimbledon’s center court, with the dream and the goal of seeing one of his players win the title, something that had eluded him throughout his career.
Gauff might be able to do it, but not this year. Gilbert didn’t have the magic words and Gauff didn’t have the magic in her hands as her dream of another Grand Slam final, which during the first week at the All England Club seemed so achievable, began to slip away.
Gauff said she and Gilbert had a game plan to play aggressively and try to hit her “hard ball” through Navarro. It didn’t work. Navarro played like a backboard and on rallies that lasted more than nine shots, she won 16-3.
Gauff realized she was experiencing one of those rare moments where she was unable to find solutions on her own.
“Today, mentally, a lot happened,” Gauff said. “I wanted more direction from the box.”
This is not the first time Gauff and Gilbert have had this kind of conflict.
“They usually give me something,” she said. “I felt today that we were all out of sync. It’s not anybody’s fault except me. I mean, I’m the player on the field. I have to make my own decisions on the field.”
Navarro, who shows little emotion no matter what the numbers are on the scoreboard, kept her composure and determination. She saw Gauff trading blows with Gilbert and knew what was happening.
“It gave me confidence,” she said. “It gave me momentum and I was able to take advantage of it.”
When she’s on form, the 2021 NCAA champion and No. 19 seed here plays a solid, aggressive game from the baseline, and doesn’t give her opponents much for free. And that was the case Sunday night. She used her backhand slice into the corner of Gauff’s forehand to neutralize the spin, preventing her speed from redirecting and forcing her to take the lead on a shot that isn’t always her best friend.
At first glance, it was a major surprise. Gauff was the only player to have reached at least the semi-finals of the last three Grand Slam tournaments. She looked set to repeat that feat at Wimbledon, thanks in part to a favourable first-round draw that saw her face two opponents ranked well outside the top 100.
Navarro refused to give Gauff a window of opportunity throughout the match. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Then came Navarro, who played one of the best matches of her career, or at least the best since she knocked out four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the second round. In a matter of days, Navarro, an unassuming young woman born in New York and raised in South Carolina, has become something of a giant-killer on Centre Court.
She briefly hesitated on her first match point, sending a forehand too long, but earned another with a spinning serve that forced an error from Gauff.
Another forehand error from Gauff earned Navarro a third match point. Another sealed the fate of the match.
Navarro did her job. She said she didn’t have “a lot of words” after the match and attributed that to her aggression, which she needed to have a chance to temper her opponent’s play.
She will face Italian No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini — “it’s not an easy elimination,” Navarro said.
The No. 2 seed is not an easy option to eliminate either, but Navarro had one thing going for her. She knew Gauff, before she was called “Coco,” the global celebrity known by both her first and middle names. In the end, the old friends embraced over the net, tied once again on tennis’ most prestigious stage.
Navarro has known and played with and against Gauff since her earliest days of competitive tennis, and Gauff was playing against girls a few years older because opponents her age weren’t good enough.
They played a junior game and ran in the same circles until Navarro went to college and Gauff turned professional. Gauff was fully aware of Navarro’s talent and expected her old friend to excel once she joined the tour, both because of her prowess and the fearlessness that every player on the tour quickly came to know.
Navarro is still getting to know this version of herself.
“I believe it’s possible because it’s happening,” she said. “I’m starting to wonder, ‘Why not me? Why not? Why can’t I reach the quarterfinals? Why can’t I go deep in the Grand Slams?’ I think I’m starting to believe it as we speak.”
(Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
News Source : www.nytimes.com
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