By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON (Reuters) – Coco Gauff resembled a lost soul on Centre Court as her hopes of reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time were turned to dust following a 6-4 6-3 mauling by fellow American Emma Navarro on Sunday.
Second seed Gauff has destroyed the opposition to reach the fourth round without dropping a set but she came totally unstuck against Navarro, who produced a fearless brand of tennis to topple her more celebrated rival.
Gauff appeared to be heading for another regulation win when she broke for a 3-1 lead in the first set, but from then on, the killer shots that had carried her all the way to a maiden Grand Slam title at last year’s U.S. Open completely deserted her.
Navarro broke back in the very next game after Gauff drilled a backhand long to end a 13-shot rally and once the world number two missed two break points in the next game, Navarro knew she had got under her rival’s skin.
A breathtaking forehand into the corner handed Navarro the first set and after breaking for a 3-1 lead in the second, she finally ended her rival’s ordeal on her third match point when Gauff netted a forehand.
Navarro will next face Italian Jasmine Paolini, who is the highest seed left in the bottom half of the draw at seven.
(Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Christian Radnedge)
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