#8 seed Emma Navarro and #9 seed Daria Kasatkina both progressed to the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday, but they took different routes.
Emma Navarro rallied from a set down to defeat familiar opponent Peyton Stearns, 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 7-5 in a tough three-hour and 20-minute contest at Rod Laver Arena.
Navarro found herself a set and a break down after one hour and 17 minutes in sweltering conditions as her compatriot Stearns produced 20 winners compared to Navarro’s nine during a lengthy first set settled via a tie-breaker.
The unseeded Stearns continued with the momentum in the second set, breaking her opponent on her first serve to go 2-0 up. However, Navarro fought back, needing her opponent to Stearns saved two set points at 6-5 to take the set to another tie-breaker. She eventually prevailed on her fourth set point with a passing shot to level the encounter.
In more drama, it was Stearns who secured the first break of service in the final set to serve for the match at 5-4, but Navarro regained her focus and forced Stearns into errors, winning the next three games to deny Stearns her first victory over a Top 10 player in nine attempts and extend their head-to-head to an emphatic 5-0.
The win marked Navarro’s 29th three-set match at the Tour level since the beginning of 2024, the highest of any player. She will now face Chinese left-hander Wang Xiyu in the second round after her straight-sets win over Julia Grabher.
Kasatkina Cruises
Earlier, Kasatkina advanced to the second round with a convincing 6-1 6-3 win over 58th-ranked Viktoriya Tomova at the John Cain Arena. Following a swift first set, she faced an early break in the second set but immediately broke back to easily secure a win in just over an hour to continue her quest to better her third-round exits in her two previous appearances in Melbourne.
The Australian Open remains the only Grand Slam event where she holds a win percentage below 50% (8-9 win-loss record), and she will attempt to improve that record as she faces Wang Yafan in their first-ever meeting in the second round.
Wang fought back to defeat Hungary’s Anna Bondar 3-6 6-3 6-4 in her first-round match on Tuesday.
Main Photo Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports
