A double-bounce call went in Iga Swiatek’s favor against Emma Navarro—along with most everything else—as the five-time Major champion advanced to her second Australian Open semifinal. The Polish tennis star continued her dominant form in Melbourne, dropping just 14 games in five matches, culminating in a 6-1 6-2 victory over Navarro in the quarterfinals.
Finding moments of controversy can be difficult when a match ends in such a lopsided scoreline. However, the term “double bounce” immediately brings to mind last year’s heated discussion between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jack Draper. That incident, deemed “horrendous” by Auger-Aliassime, occurred on match point and reignited calls for a video review system in tennis.
Such a system would have benefitted Emma Navarro, who was on the wrong end of a similar missed call. Navarro reached game point in the second set at 2-2, just after earning her first break point of the match. She executed what appeared to be an unretrievable drop shot, but Swiatek, known for her incredible court coverage, managed to reach it–or so it seemed. Television replay later confirmed that Swiatek had struck the ball after it had bounced twice, meaning the point should have gone to Navarro. Instead, the 23-year-old continued play and won the point two strokes later, consolidating her momentum in the match.
Navarro had a fleeting moment to challenge the call but would have needed to stop play to immediately have any chance of a reversal. Given the rapid pace of professional tennis, such an instinctive decision is difficult, particularly in a high-pressure situation against the world No. 2. To her credit, Navarro kept her composure, briefly questioning the chair umpire before moving on. However, it was another obstacle in an already uphill battle against Swiatek’s relentless baseline game.
To make matters worse, another incident occurred in the following match between Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Sonego, where the American apparently reached out for a shot before it touched the ground twice. However, Shelton awarded the point to his opponent right away.
In Melbourne, Swiatek has not dropped a set, and in her last four matches, no opponent has won more than two games in a single set against her. Against Navarro, she won an astonishing 82% of first-serve points, broke serve five times, and outscored Navarro 67 points to 45.
Her quarterfinal victory now sets up a semifinal clash with Madison Keys, who battled past Elina Svitolina in three sets. Swiatek holds a 4-1 record against Keys but should anticipate a tough challenge. Keys, who reached the US Open final in 2017, had expressed her excitement to support Navarro before her quarterfinal match but will now turn her focus to the challenge of facing Swiatek. Swiatek remains the clear favorite for the title, having conceded only 14 games across five matches.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images
