US Open 2024, quarter-finals, Tuesday, 03.09.2024, 16:30
The first quarter-finalists have already been found! In the women’s competition at the US Open, much of the focus is naturally on the question of whether there are title alternatives to Iga Swiantek and Aryna Sabalenka
The spectators’ biggest hope, Coco Gauff, is already out, but another is fighting for the top spot. One that I think is strong enough to make it to the semi-finals on Tuesday despite being the underdog. Why? I’ll tell you now in my Badosa Navarro tip!
Success on the big stage? One quarter-final, on both sides! When Emma Navarro and Paula Badosa meet on Tuesday, one of them will definitely achieve something historic.
Emma Navarro has only taken part in the domestic Grand Slam tournament twice so far, failing twice right at the start. So it was not necessarily to be expected that she would make it this far in the Big Apple.
3rd round at the Australian Open, round of 16 in Paris, quarter-finals at Wimbledon – her major year in 2024 is getting stronger step by step. If we go by this sequence, it may not actually be over yet against Paula Badosa
The 23-year-old was also the one who pulled off the feat of knocking out co-favorite Coco Gauff. She won 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, but of course also benefited from the fact that Gauff made 19 double faults.
Earlier in round 3 against Marta Kostjuk, things went very similarly, with Navarro winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. The first two rounds are not really worth mentioning, as they were more or less David versus Goliath.
6-1, 6-1 against Arantxa Rus and Anna Blinkova, here she didn’t give her opponents the slightest chance. At 1.70 meters, Navarro is not one of the tallest players on the tour
This fact could be particularly important because Paula Badosa is ten centimeters taller. A few months ago in Rome, by the way, the two met for the first and so far only time directly.
6-1, 4-6, 2-6, after a strong start, the American was taken by surprise. Is this also due to the fact that the odds in the Oddset app are an average of 1.70 to 2.10 in favor of the Spaniard?
Paula Badosa, who has often attracted attention this year with her romance with Stefanos Tsitsipas, is now finally putting her name back on the sporting map. Twice round 1 and twice round 2, until this year the US Open was not her thing at all
It’s been three years since she reached the quarter-finals of a major, back then in Paris. In New York, she dropped a single set, but: I have to mention that none of her opponents were ranked highly.
6-0, 6-3 against Viktorija Golubic, 6-3, 7-5 against Taylor Townsend and 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 against Elena-Gabriela Ruse – Badosa started the tournament with these three results. She followed this up with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Wang Yafan in the round of 16.
Of course, the 26-year-old, who was born here in New York, will know: Emma Navarro is a completely different kettle of fish. The winner of this year’s Citi Open also reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati, only losing in three sets to Jessica Pegula
My Badosa Navarro tip
What to expect from Emma Navarro and Paula Badosa in this quarter-final? Based on the draw, probably not with Navarro, but perhaps a little more with Badosa. The question now, of course, is who will perform better in the direct duel.
In my opinion, the decisive factor could well be who has pushed themselves to the limit. For me, the advantage here is on the side of the American, who sent Coco Gauff home. So my simple tip is:
Navarro wins against Badosa!
