Author: Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday, January 20, 2025
After defeating Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the third round, Emma Navarro Talked in court about grueling cycling sessions with her father Ben Navarro, quoting the words “ride the bike and cry”. “We made up the term ‘crying while riding,’ because we would be there for six hours, with tears in our eyes and exhausted trying to ride up a mountain,” Navarro said. “I was growing up. I learned a lot of strength in middle school.”
That tough attitude is paying dividends for Americans in Melbourne. She beat the Russian in three sets on Monday night to make it her fourth straight win. Darya Kasatkina,6-4,5-7,7-5. Navarro squandered three match points in the second set, but had the mental fortitude to stick to the plan and defeat the ninth seed in a thrilling decider.
The 23-year-old has now won seven consecutive Grand Slam deciding sets and eight of nine, and she put her performance in Melbourne down to mental toughness. She won a quarterfinal matchup against the second seed Iga Swiatek (More on next page) The hard way.
“I think it’s more of a mental test,” Navarro said. “I worked really hard on my fitness to be able to play three sets, two hours, three hours, whatever it takes. I feel like my fitness paid off in the first four games.
Navarro said she has yet to play her best tennis at this Australian Open. To her credit, then, she reached the quarterfinals for the first time at the Australian Open without playing a full match.
Experience is usually a big help when it comes to winning three sets at a Grand Slam, but Navarro didn’t have much to offer in his ninth main draw match at a Grand Slam. The tenacity she relies on seems to be ingrained in her DNA.
“I think it takes mental toughness more than anything,” she said. “I feel like I didn’t play my best. Today was definitely the best game I’ve ever played. I feel like I’ve improved a little bit every game.
Navarro is 10-2 in three sets at majors and 28-15 overall. Her fitness and her commitment to development in that area is a big reason why she has reached at least the quarterfinals in her last three Grand Slams.
In the quarter-finals she will be tested by a talent who reached the quarter-finals in the opposite way. Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek has lost just 11 games in four rounds. This is much less than the 61 Navarro produced. The American knew she had to summon all her strength to meet Swiatek’s firepower.
In their only previous meeting, she lost to the Pole 6-0, 6-2 at the 2018 80K Challenge.
“When I look back on my tennis career, I feel like there weren’t a lot of times where I was completely blown away on the court, and I was definitely a little bit blown away playing against her,” Navarro admitted. “I think she was probably ranked at the time. Around 200. We were playing at my hometown club in Charleston and I was like, “Wow, this girl is really good. “
Navarro is confident in his game and health and believes this time will be different.
“Things are definitely different now. I feel like I’m pretty good too. You know, I’m ready for the challenge.
