Any hopes of Emma Navarro winning her hometown tournament will have to wait until next year as fellow American Amanda Anisimova ousted her in the quarterfinals of the Credit One Charleston Open on April 4.
The tightly-contested match opened with eight straight holds as the servers hit their spots early. That was followed by three consecutive breaks, including two for Anisimova, who then held to win the first set 7-5. The second set belonged to the returners, with nine breaks of service in all. Down 5-6, Navarro broke Anisimova for a fifth time to force a tiebreaker. But Anisimova dominated the breaker, lacing several line winners to take it 7-1 and claim the victory. Despite excellent service returning in the second set, Navarro could never find her groove on serve, and Anisimova broke her seven times over the course of the match.
The 23-year-old Navarro’s quarterfinal appearance tied for her best result to date at COCO, where she first played as a 17-year-old. Navarro knocked out two Americans in her previous matches, beating the hard-hitting Hailey Baptiste in the Round of 32 6-4, 6-3 behind some lethal drop shots that won her several key points.
In the Round of 16 against Ashlyn Kreuger, she lost the first set 4-6, but in true Navarro style, she fought back from a set down, taking the second 6-4. Game three of the third set marked a turning point in the match. Down love-40 on her serve with the score tied 1-1, Navarro won five straight points to give her a crucial hold. She took control from there, eventually building a 5-1 lead and winning the third set 6-2.
In her on-court interview following the match, Navarro cited the key adjustment that helped her achieve yet another triumphant comeback. “I played more aggressively,” said Navarro. “I said to myself, ‘If I’m going to go out, I’m going to go out playing bold.’”
Best Performance by Americans Since 2003
It was a banner year for American tennis at COCO. Five Americans reached the quarters of the tournament (Navarro, Danielle Collins, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova and Sofia Kenin) and this year marked the first time since 2003 that three Americans made the semifinals in Pegula, Anisimova and Kenin.
Pegula, the top-ranked American at world No. 4, defeated Kenin in the final 6-3, 7-5 after Kenin squandered a 5-1 lead in the second set, earning Pegula her first Charleston Open trophy and first-ever clay court title. In her press conference, Pegula, who grew up in Hilton Head playing at the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy, acknowledged what it meant to win here, referencing her Lowcountry connection.
“I mean, it’s my first clay court title, which is really cool. To win it here in Charleston, super special. Have a lot of history here, history in the Lowcountry, history in Charleston. I had a lot of people from Hilton Head come and watch me from my old academy, my old coach, old friends, my aunt and uncle, my grandparents that weren’t too far away. And when I look back, to have them here with me in that moment is really, really cool.”
By Colin McCandless