Coco Gauff vs Emma Navarro: Key Factors Behind Navarro’s US Open 2024 Victory

Emma remarked, “There was a ton of energy, passion, and emotion out there,” following her friend’s successful title defense at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In the world of tennis, service yips are like tattoos—once you have them, you’ll always have them. For months or years at a time, you can try to hide them, cover them up, ignore them, and all but forget about them. However, very few players are able to completely remove them from their thoughts and actions.

To her dismay and detriment, Coco Gauff learned that tragic truth once more in her 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 US Open defeat to Emma Navarro. Double faults have damaged Gauff in the past, and they did it again on Sunday. They escalated late, as she committed 11 in the third set alone, for a total of 19, and they started early—she had three in her opening service game. The deluge of misplaced serves swept away any hope the reigning champion had of defeating her compatriot and exacting revenge for her Wimbledon defeat.

Afterwards, Gauff remarked, “Obviously, I wish I could serve better.” “I believe that the outcome of the match would have been different for me if I had done it. The greatest difference was that I just neglected to maintain my serve.

This was bad news not only for Gauff, of course, but also for the competition. Other than that, it was a tight, hectic event. For most of the game, the two Americans stationed themselves right below the baseline, slugging their ground strokes at each other straight down the middle of the court like a couple of racquet-wielding duelists instead of firearms.

The scores and rallies fluctuated over the course of three sets. There were intervals where Gauff, with her more forceful punches, turned the tables on Navarro, who dominated with her incredibly clean touch.

But based on their Wimbledon match and this one, Navarro seems to appreciate Gauff’s style of play. She enjoys moving at her own speed and repositioning from better viewpoints and locations. She enjoys using her excellent, early backhand return to put pressure on Gauff’s poor second serve. She also doesn’t mind supporting Gauff from a distance because she is equally, if not more, stable and skilled in defense. Navarro outperformed Gauff in terms of errors made (35 to 60) and winners (20 to 14).

It appeared as though Navarro would win in two sets when she broke for 4-3 in the second set. Rather, she became tense, started to make mistakes with first serves and ground strokes, and committed double faults to regain the break. When Navarro served at 0-1 in the third game, Gauff had gained momentum and the support of the spectators after entering the play for the first time. That’s when Navarro’s strategy of maintaining a steady keel paid off. As swiftly as she had tightened up, she relaxed again, removed the shanks, and held.

Gauff’s serve broke after that. At 4-3, however, Navarro was still faced with another nerve-wracking service game. Instead of lowering her level, this time she raised it. Playing the match’s pivotal rally, the two were behind 0–15. When she moved in and angled off a forehand volley, Gauff appeared to have the advantage. However, Navarro followed the ball, won the point by launching a flawless defense lob that fell just inside the baseline.