US Open: Coco Gauff's title defense ends against Emma Navarro in New York | Tennis News

Coco Gauff failed to defend her US Open title as she suffered a shock 3-6 6-4 3-6 defeat to 13th seed Emma Navarro on Sunday.

The 2023 champion struggled immensely on his serve and forehand, hitting 19 double faults and having to show his fighting spirit to make it to the final in three sets before ultimately losing to his fellow American in New York.

Navarro, who is reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the second time in her career and first at the US Open, dominated the first set and dominated again in the second, forcing a break to go up 4-3 with a service game remaining.

But Navarro began to feel nervous as Gauff won three games in a row to take the match to a third set.

In the third round, Gauff's serve was badly missed by Navarro, who ended up breaking twice to secure a stunning win.

“I've lost in the first round the last two years, so it's crazy to be in the quarterfinals,” Navarro said courtside. “It's my hometown, and it's really special to be playing here.

“Coco Gauff is an incredible player. I have great respect for her and I believe she will come back here next year and win.

“Losing the second set was tough. I had a chance to go from 4-3 down to 30-0, but I was in a slump. I was able to regroup and go into the third set with a new mindset.

“I wanted to play aggressive tennis and I think I was able to do that.”

Sky Sports Tennis' Marion Bartoli said of Gauff's performance: “It's hard to win a match when you have 19 double faults, but Navarro made it happen by stepping up and attacking.”

“She had to back off because she pushed Coco too far behind the baseline. That's not what she wants. She wants to be in the driver's seat.

“Her serve direction was constantly aimed at Coco's forehand.”

Navarro will next face 26th seed Paula Badosa, who advanced to her second Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open after beating China's Wang Yafan 6-1 6-2.

The Spaniard and former top-five player saved eight of eight break points and converted four of five to win in one hour and 22 minutes on the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

It was a remarkable turnaround for Badosa, who had been considering retirement because of the pain caused by a stress fracture in her lower back. She had even considered retirement at the age of just 26.

“A few months ago, I thought about quitting the sport because I lost confidence in myself and my injury was not improving,” said Badosa, who reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 French Open.

“So getting back (to this level) is like a dream come true.”

Dimitrov blocks Rublev's counterattack to advance to quarterfinals | Fritz subdues Ruud from behind

Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov has reached the US Open quarterfinals for the first time since 2019, holding off a comeback attempt from sixth seed Andrey Rublev, winning 6-3 7-6(3) 1-6 3-6 6-3 on Sunday.

The ninth seed won 80% of his first serve points and hit 17 aces to frustrate the Russian, who slammed his racket onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium court and his body, tearing his wrist and requiring medical attention in the first set.

The New York crowd rejoiced as Serena Williams sipped the event's signature Honey Dews cocktail after a tight fifth set win over the Bulgarian.

Rublev's frustration exploded in the fourth game of the first set with two double faults, he smashed a forehand into the net once and another wide to give Dimitrov his first break of the match.

Dimitrov appeared to have the lead after winning the last five points in the second-set tiebreak, but the Russian fought back to win the next two sets to level the match.

A fourth game break in the final set gave Dimitrov a commanding lead that he would not relinquish, sending him into the quarterfinals against either Francis Tiafone of the United States or Alexei Popyrin of Australia.

“Stealing the second set really helped me to keep believing and trusting my game and my body,” Dimitrov told reporters.

“After the first two sets, he started playing amazing. There wasn't much I could do, so I had to pull back a little bit and wait for my chance.

“It happened in the fifth. I think that was the big difference today. I followed the game after that, but it was very difficult.”

Earlier, Taylor Fritz overcame a slow start to eventually defeat eighth seed Casper Ruud 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-2 to advance to the US Open quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

Rude was sharp from the start, taking a 5-3 lead before winning the first set with a love hold.

But the American began to find a breakthrough against Ruud's serve in the second set, and finally broke the match after the Norwegian, who was towelling off the sweat dripping down the court in the humid New York weather, double-faulted at set point to level the match.

Although Rude changed into dry clothes and shoes before the third attack, he never regained his former form.

He had a terrible service game, eventually netting a backhand in the third set to go down 2-0 before 12th-seeded Fritz won the set with an ace.

Fritz continued to press the accelerator in the fourth round, sinking his 24th ace on match point to advance to the quarterfinals against either American Brandon Nakashima or Germany's fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

What matches will be on Sky Sports Tennis in September?

• Jasmine Open, Tunisia – WTA 250 (September 9-15)
• Guadalajara Open, Mexico – WTA 500 (September 9-15)
• Korea Open – WTA 500 (September 16-22 – Emma Raducanu in action)
• Thailand Open – WTA 250 (September 16-22)
• Chengdu Open, China – ATP 250 (September 18-24)
• Hangzhou Open, China – ATP 250 (18-24 September)
• China Open – WTA 1000 (September 25 – October 6)
• Japan Open – ATP 500 (September 25 – October 1)
• China Open – ATP 500 (September 26 – October 2)

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