American Emma Navarro advanced to the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career at the US Open with a straight-set win over Paula Badosa.

Navarro, 23, was cheered on by the majority of fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday, while Spain’s Badosa struggled with the partisan atmosphere and lost 6-2, 7-5.

Badosa made two double faults in her first service game to give Navarro an early lead, and she made two more double faults in the eighth game as the American cruised to a comfortable first set.

However, the 26-year-old Badosa fought back and seemed to be in control with a 5-1 lead and a double break in the second set.

She served twice to win sets, but the game of the number 26 seed, who was close to tears at times, fell apart and Navarro took six games in a row to advance.

“Thank you, Dad, for sending me on this journey”

In her post-match interview, New York-born Navarro thanked her family for their support and help in building her career as a professional player.

She said: “I also want to say ‘thank you’ to my father because he had a vision when I was very young.

“He knew I might have had a little bit of ADHD or something because I was sitting in the classroom so much or working 9 to 5, and I think he saw something in me from a young age. Thank you, Dad, for sending me on this journey.”

Navarro had won only one match on the main stage of a Grand Slam before this year, but has continued to improve in her breakthrough year of 2024.

She reached the third round of the Australian Open, the round of 16 of the French Open, the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and now the semifinals of her home Slam tournament.

“After I got down to 5-2, I felt like it could be two sets,” Navarro added. “I just wanted to stay really tough and hang on, and even if I lost the second set, I wanted to set the tone for the third set.”

“I’m just really happy with my performance today. Crazy to get to the semifinals. US Open, baby.”

Navarro defeated 2023 champion and fellow American Coco Gauff 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the round of 16 and when asked what reaching the semifinals meant to her, she replied: “It means so much to me. My coach and I have been together since I was 14 or 15, so it’s been eight years now.

“We’ve done a lot of great work together. Thank you for everything you do, your dedication and the time you’ve put into this journey to make me the player I am.”

Sabalenka or Zheng next for Navarro

Navarro will face the winner of the next quarter-final between second-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka and seventh-seeded Chinese Zheng Qinwen, which kicks off at 00:00 (CEST) on Wednesday.

“I’ve played against both of them a few times,” said Navarro. “They are great players, I think we will put up a great fight. But I’m ready to face the challenge of any of them.”

“They’re both strong servers and strong hitters and I think they’ll be aggressive at me no matter who it is – but yeah, I’ll be ready.”