Indian Wells 2024: Emma Navarro Upsets Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Medvedev Advances
Indian Wells, a battleground of tennis prowess, witnessed thrilling matches as Emma Navarro, Coco Gauff, and Daniil Medvedev showcased their dominance on the court.
The 22-year-old Emma Navarro, who reached the semi-finals in Auckland and San Diego this season and won the WTA title in Hobart, is having a great season.
On Wednesday, American Emma Navarro upset reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka to advance to the Indian Wells quarterfinals, while Coco Gauff easily advanced. On a breezy Stadium Court, 23rd-ranked Navarro pushed Sabalenka hard to win her first career match against a top-five player, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Third-seeded US Open champion Gauff defeated Belgian Elise Mertens 6-0, 6-2 to mark her 20th birthday. Daniil Medvedev, the runner-up in the men’s singles tournament the previous year, had to contend with windy conditions but still managed to defeat Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4.
With this win, Navarro’s stellar season is not over. The 22-year-old has already advanced to the semifinals in Auckland and San Diego and won the WTA crown in Hobart. “It’s definitely cool to be able to play an opponent like that and feel like I can hang and I can win,” she stated. “To kind of just get to this stage and be able to play at a level that can compete with the best players in the world, I’ve worked incredibly hard over the years.
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She said, “I think that showed today.” “She made it really tough on me today, but I was able to play some good tennis in the big moments.”
Sabalenka, on the other hand, has experienced frustration ever since her victorious title defense in the first Grand Slam of the year. The Belarusian’s exit in the fourth round comes after she lost her first match in Dubai earlier this month. Navarro emerged victorious as they traded three consecutive breaks in the third set to grab a 3-1 lead, following just two breaks of serve between the two in the opening two sets.
She ended with 22 wins to 14 unforced errors, while Sabalenka’s 38 winners were offset by 34 unforced errors, as she broke Sabalenka once more to win the match. Although Sabalenka defeated American Peyton Stearns, ranked 64th, in her opening round by saving four match points, she admitted that she never felt completely at ease in the California desert this year.
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“I made an effort to adapt. We worked on a few things, like making sure I’m present and vying for the position,” the woman remarked. “I would say that we did our best and we’ll learn.”
To advance to the semifinals, Navarro will play one of two opponents: unseeded Frenchwoman Diane Parry or ninth-ranked Greek Maria Sakkari. Gauff, who turned 20 on Wednesday, will next play Yuan Yue of China or Daria Kasatkina, who is ranked eleventh. “It feels good to finally have a victory on my birthday,” Gauff remarked following her “pretty straightforward” triumph.
Reliable Medvedev
In windy circumstances that made it “very tough” to play from one end of the court compared to the other, Medvedev claimed that consistency was the key to his victory. “I believe I performed well overall. “I was very consistent,” stated Medvedev, who went one step closer to winning his maiden championship at Indian Wells, the only hardcourt ATP Masters event he has never won. “I had only 13 unforced errors.”
In the quarterfinals, he will face either seventh-seeded Holger Rune or 2022 champion Taylor Fritz. In other men’s matches, American Tommy Paul defeated Italian Luca Nardi 6-4, 6-3 to put a stop to his dream week.
Coming off a shocking upset of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round, Nardi was a “lucky loser” who qualified for the main draw despite losing in qualification. Paul will square off against ninth-seeded Casper Ruud, who overcame French seasoned player Gael Monfils 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, to secure a spot in the semifinals.
Ruud of Norway picked up his game in the second and third sets, winning 16 of 20 points at the net and earning his only break of the match early in the third set to deny Monfils his chance to become the second-oldest player in ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals since the series began in 1990, behind only Roger Federer.
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