LondonMma Navarro characterizes herself as obstinate and her tennis as tenacious. At Wimbledon on Saturday, the American defeated Barbara Krejcikova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 to achieve another Grand Slam triumph against a reigning champion. Her game and mindset were both in the correct spots.
The 10th-seeded Navarro continued a recent run of one-and-done winners at the All England Club by sending a sick and lightheaded Krejcikova home in the third round, guaranteeing the grass-court major another first-time women’s champion.
Being tough and persevering to the end, regardless of the situation, is something I’m really proud of. Born in New York, raised in South Carolina, and a 2021 NCAA champion for the University of Virginia, Navarro said, “I always try to do it.” If I ever gave up, I would never be able to live with myself. I’m just not that kind of person. None of my family members, in my opinion, have the disposition to give up easily. We’re a stubborn group, I suppose.
After Navarro broke her to take a 3-2 lead at No. 1 Court, Krejcikova lost the third set and had her blood pressure checked at the changeover. Navarro went to her guest box and talked to her coach during the action break, while Krejcikova consumed water and a banana during the medical timeout.
As play continued, Krejcikova frequently leaned over and put her hands on her knees in between points, displaying obvious indications of anguish.
Krejcikova, who was seeded 17th but will now fall out of the top 70 in the WTA rankings, admitted, “I was actually feeling worse and worse.” It’s terribly regrettable and terrible for me.
This is by no means Navarro’s first significant victory on a major platform. She advanced to her first major quarterfinal at Wimbledon last year by defeating Coco Gauff. A few months later, Navarro triumphed once more in a rematch at the U.S. Open, when Gauff, the 2023 champion, made her Slam quarterfinal debut.
The winner of the Wimbledon women’s championship on July 12 will be the ninth winner in the grass-court Grand Slam tournament’s nine previous iterations. In 2016, Serena Williams became the final repeat champion.
Since that time, the trophy winners have been Ash Barty in 2021, Garbi e Muguruza in 2017, Angelique Kerber in 2018, Simona Halep in 2019, and all of them are now retired. Marketa Vondrousova in 2023, Elena Rybakina in 2022, and Krejcikova (the competition was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19).
Vondrousova lost in the second round, and Rybakina lost on Saturday.
After falling behind Krejcikova by a set and a break at 2-1 in the second set, Navarro rallied.
The 24-year-old Navarro, who will play No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, an 18-year-old Russian, on Monday for a quarterfinal place, said, “I kind of regrouped a little, tried to slow things down from my side and make her look at some different shots.” I tried to make her as uncomfortable as possible.
Krejcikova’s actions determined the majority of the points. As a result, she finished with 34 victories, 21 more than Navarro, and 53 unforced mistakes. Navarro finished with only 11 unforced errors, which is remarkable.
The victory last year was Krejcikova’s second major tournament victory; she also won the French Open in 2021.
With four top-10 seeds remaining in the women’s division, Navarro has had a surprising two weeks. The other two are No. 8 Iga Swiatek, who defeated Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday, and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Emma Raducanu in her third-round match on Friday.
My slice is progressing quite well. “I can take advantage of that,” Navarro stated. occasionally played rough. played hard. Additionally, make some solid groundstrokes. I am quite satisfied with my current situation.
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