Emma Navarro staged a stunning second-set comeback against Paula Badosa to reach her first career grand slam semi-final at the US Open on Tuesday. (More Tennis News)
The American looked to be heading to a decider but put together an incredible run to win 6-2 7-5 on Arthur Ashe Stadium in 74 minutes.
Navarro had never made it past the first round in her previous appearances at Flushing Meadows but has followed up her Wimbledon quarter-final run with another impressive showing.
Badosa, who has been on a recent resurgence with her title in Washington last month, struggled to gain a foothold, losing her serve twice in the first set and failing to get a break in the penultimate game.
She looked back to her usual self in the second though, racing into a commanding 5-1 lead, only to see it slip away from her.
Buoyed by her home crowd, Navarro won the next six games in a row to set up a meeting with either Qinwen Zheng or Aryna Sabalenka in the next round.
Data Debrief: Breaking new ground
It has already been quite the year for Navarro, winning her first WTA Tour title in Hobart in January before reaching her first grand slam quarter-final in Wimbledon.
But her performance in her home tournament has the potential to be the pick of the year. Into her first major semis, she is also now guaranteed a top-10 debut next week.
Navarro is the sixth player in the last 40 years to make the women's singles semi-finals at the US Open without a win at the event entering the tournament, after Steffi Graf (1985), Venus Williams (1997), Yanana Wickmayer (2009), Bianca Andreescu (2019) & Emma Raducanu (2021).
