‘Delighted’ Coco Gauff recalls playing Emma Navarro as a 12-year-old after beating her in Auckland semi-final

Gauff is into her consecutive ASB Classic finals.

‘Delighted’ Coco Gauff recalls playing Emma Navarro as a 12-year-old after beating her in Auckland semi-final

Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro (Image via Open Source/X)

Coco Gauff had a superb 2023 season. The American won her first major Grand Slam, winning the US Open in front of her home crowd. Gauff beat the World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the finals to clinch the title. And now she has started her 2024 campaign with the ASB Classic in Auckland. On Saturday, she was up against Emma Navarro in the semis of the tournament.

The 19-year-old dominated Emma Navarro in the match, beating her in straight sets to qualify for the finals of the match. In the post-match interview, Gauff recalled the time when she played Navarro as a 12-year-old. In the interview, she said, 

Definitely a good start to my 2024. Emma is an incredible player. We played each other when I was like 12 and she was 15. It’s our first time playing since then. It was really cool to play on this stage. I wish her the best for the rest of the season.

With the win, Gauff qualified for her second straight finals of the ASB Classic. She would face either Elina Svitolina or Wang Xiyu. With the final set for Sunday, the American would want to register her first title of the season with her second consecutive ASB Classic title.

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Gauff has been one of the most consistent performers in the last few years. Her performances in the Grand Slam events as well as the tours have also seen her finish as one of the highest-paid female athletes. With the ASB Classic a perfect training ground for her for the Australian Open, she would be ready to charge for the title.

Coco Gauff recalls her time when she faced Emma Navarro as a 12-year-old after beating her in the semis of the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Coco Gauff (Image via Imago)

Though the 19-year-old hasn’t had a very good time in Melbourne Park, she would be looking to rectify it. Moreover, the defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will also look to avenge her defeat from Gauff of the US Open finals. Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka will also provide tough competition to the World No.3.

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