No. 16 seed Emma Navarro advanced to the China Open quarterfinals after a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0, win over No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek, on Thursday, Oct. 1 on the Diamond Court. The 2024 WTA most improved player snapped Swiatek’s six-game win streak and gave the World No. 2 her first-ever loss at the China Open. Swiatek won the title in her 2023 tournament debut.
Navarro faces No. 5 seed and fellow American Jessica Pegula in the next round. Navarro lost their two prior meetings, most recently in the spring on the grass courts of Bad Homburg.
Swiatek came out aggressively and forced Navarro onto the defensive, but Navarro kept the ball in play as she extended points and took advantage of an uncharacteristically error-strewn night for the Pole. Navarro used her forehand slice to great effect to defend the corners, turning defense to offense.
“I think playing defense is something I really enjoy about playing and making my opponent hit one more shot.” Navarro told China Open afterward. “When I miss those shots on the run or the stab slices, that really bugs me. I like to make those and make her hit another ball and execute a shot from a tough position.”
Navarro’s strategy had its limits against Swiatek.
“I think she does a very good job of stepping in on serves and returns as well and making you feel a ton of pressure,” Navarro said of her opponent. “I think it’s easy to sort of feel sped up and out of control when that’s happening.”
In the first set, Navarro fell behind 0-2 but rallied back, breaking serve twice to win the set 6-4. Swiatek struggled to find the backcourt, frequently sending her shots long and racking up unforced errors, an issue that plagued her throughout the entire match.
Swiatek found some rhythm in the second set, particularly with her serve. In the seventh game she landed three aces and finished with an impressive total of nine on the night. She found success when she was able to pin Navarro back and make aggressive plays at the net, but her inconsistency proved her undoing.
In the decider, Swiatek’s struggles worsened as she grew more visibly frustrated with each mistake. Navarro took the set without dropping a single game to tally her first win over the former No. 1.
Swiatek addressed her errors in a post-match press conference: “I guess it was a matter of just little things, like sometimes making one more ball in or making a safer decisions. In first set I didn't, and the ball went out.”
Navarro said she derived confidence from her own performance in the match.
“I always try to set out on the court with goals that are achievable and that are in my control regardless of what my opponent is doing, and I think I did that today, so that's definitely something I’ll walk away with happy with,” she said. “I think I played with a steadiness and a calmness and I guess just a feeling of control throughout the match.”
—Reporting by Dane Vogel
Pegula heads to quarterfinals after defeating Kostyuk
No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula closed out the night session by defeating No. 23 seed Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6(4)-7, 6-1 in a late-night Round of 16 match.
The first set started with Pegula breaking serve on Kostyuk’s double fault on game point. The players traded games twice before Pegula held serve to maintain her lead at 5-3. The next game went to deuce, and Pegula remained steady to break serve and win the set.
In the second set, the players held serve through six close games to 3-3. Pegula appeared to be unfazed, while Kostyuk showed frustration, putting her head down, throwing her racket, and kicking at the ball as Pegula brought the sixth game to deuce. Kostyuk broke serve in the seventh game, Pegula broke back in the tenth, and the set continued into a tiebreak that Kostyuk won. Pegula turned it around in the third set, dominating 6-1.
Pegula previously defeated Ajla Tomljanovic and Emma Raducanu in the tournament.
—Reporting by Mia Fleischer
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