Emma Navarro eliminates Coco Gauff at Wimbledon to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal

LONDON (AP) — Coco Gauff has never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon, and she exited at that stage again on Sunday, eliminated by Emma Navarro 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday in an all-American matchup.

The second-seeded Gauff is the reigning U.S. Open champion, and she also has been the runner-up at the French Open and reached the semifinals at the Australian Open.

And while her first big breakthrough came at the All England Club at age 15, when she became the youngest qualifier in tournament history and beat Venus Williams in the first round en route to getting to the fourth, Gauff never has bettered that result.

She also exited in the fourth round in her next appearance, in 2021, then lost in the third round in 2022 and the first round a year ago.

The 19th-seeded Navarro, a 23-year-old who grew up in South Carolina and won an NCAA title for Virginia, reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

Gauff kept making mistakes Sunday and would look up at her Centre Court guest box, where one of her two coaches, Brad Gilbert, often stood with his hands on his hips.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis