By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) – Coco Gauff resembled a lost soul on Centre Court as her hopes of reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time were turned to dust following a 6-4 6-3 mauling by fellow American Emma Navarro on Sunday.
Second seed Gauff has destroyed the opposition to reach the fourth round without dropping a set but she came totally unstuck against Navarro, who produced a fearless brand of tennis to topple her more celebrated rival.
Gauff appeared to be heading for another regulation win when she broke for a 3-1 lead in the first set, but from then on, the killer shots that had carried her all the way to a maiden Grand Slam title at last year’s U.S. Open completely deserted her.
Navarro broke back in the very next game after Gauff drilled a backhand long to end a 13-shot rally and once the world number two missed two break points in the next game, Navarro knew she had got under her rival’s skin.
A breathtaking forehand into the corner handed Navarro the first set and after breaking for a 3-1 lead in the second, she finally ended her rival’s ordeal on her third match point when Gauff netted a forehand.
Navarro will next face Italian Jasmine Paolini, who is the highest seed left in the bottom half of the draw at seven.
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Christian Radnedge)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.