MELBOURNE, Australia (WCIV) — Emma Navarro continued her stay in Melbourne, winning in the second round of the Australian Open in another match that went three sets.
Navarro won 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 over Xiyu Wang, from China, in a third set that featured an impressive rally back with the No. 8-seeded Charleston local finding her footing in crunch time.
“I was able to find something there at the end,” Navarro said. “It was really tough the whole time. I knew it was going to be that way. I was ready to handle it. And I found some good tennis there at the end.”
Navarro, fresh off one of the Australian Opens’ finest first-round matchups against American Peyton Stearns, appeared to jump on Wang, a lefty, early in the matchup. With a decisive win in the first set, it appeared that Navarro wouldn’t be in for another three-hour and 20-minute slog. Still, this match went the distance.
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In the second set, Wang found footing, using her power to win with a wide margin, sending the match to the all-deciding third.
Wang won the first two games in the second set, holding Navarro to one score in total. Then, momentum shifted, with Navarro winning two straight games to knot the set up, 2-2.
Navarro’s challenger would take a two-game lead, her final of the match, as the 2024 tennis star won four straight games to take the final set.
“I am pretty laid back naturally,” Navarro said when asked how she kept battling back. “Nerves and emotions, I work throughout on the court. I keep most of it inside. But I am pretty laid back.”
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Navarro took on Wang in the first round of the 2024 Australian Open, defeating her in three sets. She would go on to lose that tournament in the third round – where she stands today after two back-to-back thrilling victories.
The 23-year-old star now moves on to play Ons Jabeur, from Tunisia, who turned pro in 2010. Jabeur’s latest wins are over Anhelina Kalinina and Camila Osorio in straight sets.
The third round match will be played on Friday, Jan. 17.
