MELBOURNE, Australia — No. 8 Emma Navarro wanted to play the longest WTA-level match of her profession — 3 hours and 20 minutes — and rallied from 5-3 down within the third set to beat fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5 within the first spherical of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
A semifinalist on the US Open final 12 months, Navarro was seeded within the high eight at a significant for the primary time and was finishing a set of appearances on the middle courts on the Grand Slams along with her first look on Rod Laver Area.
So, how did she really feel after being pushed all the best way by the big-hitting Steans?
“Nice,” she stated, telling the group the period of the match felt like a time warp. “Loopy match right now.
“I simply stored telling myself to profit from what I had right now. Perhaps it wasn’t my greatest, however she put up a very good battle. Actually glad to simply get the win.”
Their match was the primary all-American girls’s main match to go previous 5-all in all three units for the reason that 2005 French Open (Amy Frazier defeated Meghann Shaughnessy within the first spherical 7-5, 5-7, 7-5).
“One of many extra distinctive matches I’ve performed shortly, I feel,” Navarro stated. “Undoubtedly didn’t have my greatest stuff right now. It was simply relying quite a bit, I assume, on my grit and toughness and battle.
“She had lots of moments there the place she might have perhaps closed it out or run away with it. I simply tried to remain actually powerful.”
It is the longest girls’s match of the match up to now.
For Emma Raducanu, successful within the first spherical on the Australian Open was at all times going to be extra vital than how she achieved the end result.
That was clear Tuesday when the 2021 US Open champion celebrated her 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) win over No. 26-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova out on Court docket 3, the place a scattering of British flags fluttered in a lightweight breeze on Day 3 at Melbourne Park.
In her first match since November, the 22-year-old British participant had 15 double faults, made 30 unforced errors and gained simply 30% of factors on her second serve. However she was ok within the large moments, with 22 winners and 9 aces, to claw her method into the second spherical.
“Actually, I am unsure what I modified in my serve right now. I feel it had a thoughts of its personal,” Raducanu stated. “Within the first set I used to be hitting lots of good first serves. I hit a couple of aces. On the similar time I used to be hitting a double fault. I used to be fairly of accepting that, OK, I am at the very least going for it.
“Because the balls acquired heavier, it was much more tough. As extra stored coming, it wasn’t straightforward to refocus, however I knew even when I used to be down, I’ve nice returns.”
As a result of she wasn’t taking part in competitively, the most important information about her again house was her minor again bother earlier this month and the very fact she refused remedy for ant bites final week — simply to be on the protected facet by way of treatment that may run her afoul of anti-doping rules.
Alexandrova served for the primary set, which contained eight service breaks, however Raducanu broke again instantly.
Within the second set, Raducanu led 4-2 however then misplaced management of her serve once more and wanted to avoid wasting a set level earlier than forcing one other tiebreaker, which she dominated.
Raducanu raced to a 6-0 lead within the breaker and, with an excessive amount of of a result in fear, held her nerve to clinch her first win of 2025.
Since turning into the primary participant to win a Grand Slam title after going by way of qualifying, Raducanu hasn’t been previous the fourth spherical of a significant. She has reached the third spherical for the previous three years in Australia.
She’ll subsequent play Amanda Anisimova, who had a 6-2, 6-3 win over Maria Carle.
“I do know she’s an enormous ball-striker,” Raducanu stated. “I practiced along with her a pair occasions. She likes to dictate. So I feel it should be an enormous problem for me.”
Ninth-seeded Daria Kasatkina was the primary by way of on Day 3, dropping the primary sport earlier than successful the following seven straight en path to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Viktoriya Tomova.
ESPN Analysis, The Related Press and Reuters contributed to this report.