The fourth-round defeat of Gauff, with scores of 6-4 and
6-3, has resulted in only two of the top ten women’s seeds remaining in the
tournament.
In another development, Lulu Sun, a relatively unknown player from New Zealand, made history by becoming the first female representative from her country to advance to the quarterfinals of the prestigious Wimbledon tournament. Meanwhile, Madison Keys, another competitor, was forced to withdraw from her round of 16 match due to an emotional breakdown.
Navarro, ranked 19th, reached the quarter-finals of a Grand
Slam for the first time with her defeat of US Open champion Gauff.
Gauff, who made the semi-finals at the Australian Open and
French Open this year, has still to get past the last 16 at Wimbledon, the
tournament, where she made her breakthrough as a 15-year-old in 2019.
Her shock defeat followed the unexpected exit of world
number one Iga Swiatek in the third round on Saturday.
“I think I played really aggressively. Coco’s an amazing
player and I have a ton of respect for her,” said Navarro.
Only fourth-ranked 2022 champion Elena Rybakina and Jasmine
Paolini, the world number seven, remain from the top 10 women.
Paolini will be Navarro’s quarter-final opponent.
World number three Alcaraz defeated French 16th seed Ugo
Humbert 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 to make the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the
ninth time in just 14 appearances.
However, it was another uncomfortable afternoon for the
Spaniard, who had needed five sets to see off Frances Tiafoe in the third
round.
His erratic performance on Sunday saw him drop serve five
times and commit an uncharacteristic 33 unforced errors.
The 21-year-old, bidding to become just the sixth man to win
the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, eased through the first set under
the Centre Court roof before crucially saving four break points in the fifth
game of the second.
Humbert stormed back, breaking the champion three times in
the third set as Alcaraz went spectacularly off the boil.
But Humbert handed over a service break in the 11th game of
the fourth set and Alcaraz took full advantage to quickly seal the tie.
‘Fight to last ball’
“I will be there, fighting until the last ball,” said
Alcaraz, who is chasing a fourth Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz will take on American 12th seed Tommy Paul, who beat
Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.
Over on Court One, top seed Sinner moved into the last-eight
with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (11/9) win over American 14th seed Ben Shelton.
Sinner, who won his maiden Slam crown at the Australian Open
this year, will face Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev for a place in the
semi-finals in a rematch of their final in Melbourne.
“It was a tough match, especially the third set. I had to
keep saving set points,” said Sinner, a semi-finalist in 2023.
Medvedev, also a semi-finalist last year, progressed when
10th seed Grigor Dimitrov retired in the first set of their last-16 tie with a
knee injury.
Sun made history for New Zealand with a three-set victory
over Emma Raducanu, shattering home hopes of ending a 47-year wait for a
British women’s champion.
The 23-year-old qualifier, ranked at 123, triumphed 6-2,
5-7, 6-2 over the 2021 US Open winner.
Sun hit 52 winners against Raducanu, who took a medical
time-out in the third set to treat problems with her ankle and back.
“It was a great match against Emma. I really dug deep to get
the win,” said Sun.
Sun will next face Croatia’s Donna Vekic, the world number
37, who clinched a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 win over Spain’s Paula Badosa on the back of
33 winners.
‘It’s sad’
American 12th seed Keys was just one game away from a third
quarter-final at the All England Club before she was forced to quit against
Paolini.
After dropping the first set, Keys hit back to level the
match at 3-6, 7-6 (8/6).
The 2017 US Open runner-up then raced into a 5-2 lead in the
decider when she suffered a left leg injury in the eighth game.
At 5-4, she took a medical time-out, returned with her left
leg bandaged but with her movement severely restricted, she wept openly on
court before quitting at 5-5.
“I’m very sorry for her, it’s sad,” said French Open
runner-up Paolini, who had never won a grass-court match until two weeks ago.
AFP