Emma Navarro commented on what Jasmine Paolini did well during their Wimbledon quarter-final.
The 23-year-old had won her three previous encounters with the Italian, but the seventh seed completely flipped the script under the roof on Court One.
Both players entered the match in tremendous form as Navarro convincingly beat Coco Gauff, while Paolini came through an epic match with Madison Keys after she retired due to injury late in the third set.
The 19th seed also defeated Naomi Osaka earlier in the tournament, but she was not allowed to play that brand of tennis on Tuesday as the World number seven raced into the Wimbledon semi-finals.
What did Emma Navarro say about Jasmine Paolini’s game?
Navarro approached her first Grand Slam quarter-final with confidence, but she soon found herself on the receiving end of a comprehensive loss.
After going down an early break 2-1, Paolini won 11 of the next 12 games and blasted 19 winners in a 6-2, 6-1 win in just 58 minutes.
In her post match press conference, an overwhelmed Navarro told reporters what Paolini changed from their previous encounters to secure a dominant win on the grandest stage.
“She was a totally different player today compared to when I played her in the past,” the American began. “I felt in our previous meetings I was the aggressor.
“I was the one controlling points and getting ahead at the beginning of points and controlling rallies too. I felt it was the opposite of that today. I felt she was on top of me from the very first point and I struggled to push back against that.
“I felt like she served really well too and before I felt like return games were opportunities where I could get ahead and play aggressively and I didn’t feel like that at all today. The same when I was serving, I felt a lot of pressure.”
Where did Emma Navarro previously beat Jasmine Paolini?
Before Navarro suffered her first defeat to Paolini at the All-England Club, she had defeated her on three successive occasions.
Their first meeting came in 2023 at the San Diego Open. After a tight first set Navarro claimed a 7-5, 6-0 victory.
They faced each other once again in Doha of this year, and Navarro had the measure of her opponent as she registered a 6-3, 7-5 win.
In Miami both players were seeded and Polini managed to win a set, but still suffered a 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 loss.
But in their first meeting away from hard courts, Paolini produced her best tennis to beat Navarro for the first time and become the first Italian woman to reach a Wimbledon semi-final.
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