The round of 16 has wrapped up the second half of the draw and the US audience is treated to two Americans advancing to the quarterfinals, as Emma Navarro knocked out Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff made short work of Elise Mertens.
Emma Navarro is having her breakthrough tournament in Indian Wells. The American defeated world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 3-6 6-2. Ranked 23 in the world entering the tournament, her career high, live rankings already have her up at 20.
The 22-year-old Navarro is still coming to terms with playing on the big stage. Asked about a shy wave to the crowd upon winning, the former college player told the media, “I would say it’s a little bit unnatural for me to be in the spotlight and be playing on a court like that with a ton of fans and TVs and, yeah, just eyes on me. It’s not my natural way.” She added, “I’m definitely getting more comfortable with it and just feeling like I can be myself even if there’s however many people watching.” Laughing, she asked the media to cut her some slack because “I think maybe that was my second or third fist pump ever.”
Sabalenka lauded her opponent, seeing Top 10 potential and analyzing what makes her so dangerous, “She just played different rhythm, more spin, really great forehand. Overall I would say she’s moving well and playing some different rhythms so you always have to adjust. If your movement is not there, then you will always be off the rhythm and you’ll be missing a lot of shots and making a lot of unforced errors.”
Coco Gauff dominated Elise Mertens 6-0 6-2. The American was eager to get home for her twentieth birthday. Speaking with media after the win, the third seed summed up the victory in a neat package, “It was pretty straightforward and hopefully I can continue the good tennis.” From there, she was quick to talk about her birthday plans, which will culminate after the Miami Open when she finally has time for a nice celebratory dinner with her brothers.
Both American women are in the same half of the draw, so Gauff and Navarro could play each other in the semifinals. There only previous meeting was the semifinal in Auckland this year, which the slightly younger player won 6-3 6-1.
Maria Sakkari of Greece was relaxed after her 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory over France’s Diane Parry. The first week with new coach David Witt has been a resounding success already. The world No.9 said, “There are a couple of girls that have made an extra step in their careers and I just want to try and catch them. Working with David, I feel like I can do that. I feel like I have the athletic abilities. Mentally I can improve and tennis-wise, it’s not like I need to change my game. It’s just that I need to add a couple of things.”
